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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kid — to tease
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. saw — the tool
  6. band — a ring
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — low music
  10. rock — a stone
  11. land — to come down
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. bass — the fish
  14. band — a music group
  15. can — a tin
  16. rock — music
  17. date — the fruit
  18. can — to be able to
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. can — a tin
  21. kid — child
  22. land — a country
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. land — ground

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