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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  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. band — a music group
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. wake — a trail
  5. drill — army training
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. chest — of your body
  9. hand — help
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. chest — a box
  12. drill — the tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. chest — of your body
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. hand — in cards
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. date — on the calendar
  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