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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. kid — to tease
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. band — a ring
  15. club — a group
  16. kid — child
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. club — for golf
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. prune — to trim
  23. kick — in football
  24. perch — the fish

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