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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. I can't ________________ this cold.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. mine — for digging
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. plane — a tool
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. stand — to bear
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. kid — to tease
  12. band — a music group
  13. kid — child
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — a phone

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