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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. band — a ring
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. charge — a price
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — help
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. swing — in golf
  17. wind — moving air
  18. game — a match
  19. swing — music
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. swing — to play on
  24. band — a music group

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