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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. hand — help
  3. band — a ring
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. club — for dancing
  6. drill — a practice
  7. saw — the tool
  8. squash — to crush
  9. swing — to play on
  10. squash — the sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. saw — the tool
  14. drill — army training
  15. swing — music
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. club — for golf
  19. hand — in cards
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. club — a group
  23. swing — in golf
  24. drill — the tool

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