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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. rest — a break
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. rest — what's left
  6. band — a music group
  7. club — for dancing
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. season — of the year
  10. rest — what's left
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. tube — a container
  14. club — for golf
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. band — a ring
  17. cell — a phone
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. hand — in cards
  20. cell — in biology
  21. club — a group
  22. season — in sport
  23. tube — the underground
  24. season — to add flavour

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