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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 116 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. band — a music group
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. clip — to cut
  7. rest — a break
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. tube — the underground
  10. degree — temperature
  11. rest — what's left
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tube — a container
  14. ball — a great time
  15. clip — a video
  16. ball — a dance
  17. rest — what's left
  18. band — a ring
  19. row — a line
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — from a university
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. degree — an amount
  24. chair — a leader

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com