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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. suit — clothes
  4. staff — a stick
  5. bat — the animal
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. band — a ring
  8. object — a thing
  9. hand — help
  10. suit — to fit
  11. clip — for paper
  12. staff — employees
  13. band — a music group
  14. clip — a video
  15. suit — in cards
  16. staff — employees
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. clip — to cut
  19. kick — in football
  20. object — to protest
  21. object — an aim
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bat — for baseball

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