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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. band — a music group
  4. can — a tin
  5. squash — the sport
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. content — happy
  8. squash — to crush
  9. net — after costs
  10. can — a tin
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. bat — the animal
  13. tube — the underground
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — the amount
  17. tube — a container
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. net — for catching
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. band — a ring
  24. tube — in a tire

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