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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. hand — help
  4. squash — to crush
  5. cell — a phone
  6. can — to be able to
  7. pit — a hole
  8. squash — the sport
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — in a race
  11. can — a tin
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. hand — in cards
  14. cell — in biology
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. track — to keep track
  18. tube — a container
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. track — a song
  21. can — a tin
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. tube — the underground
  24. band — a music group

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