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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 124 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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a music group
  3. chest — of your body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. pop — music
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. chest — of your body
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. pop — soda
  15. bat — the animal
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. chest — a box
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. sharp — clever
  23. rush — hurry
  24. band — a ring

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