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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. ball — a great time
  3. band — a ring
  4. capital — money
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. mug — a face
  10. ball — a dance
  11. root — of a plant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. root — of a word
  14. capital — a city
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. mug — a cup
  17. band — a music group
  18. bat — the animal
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. root — the cause
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. kick — in football
  24. kick — a thrill

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