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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. cell — in biology
  3. cell — a phone
  4. kid — child
  5. tube — the underground
  6. band — a music group
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a document
  10. spell — magic
  11. staff — employees
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. kid — to tease
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. staff — a stick
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a ring
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. staff — employees
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. file — a tool

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