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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. shower — to wash
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — in sport
  6. tube — the underground
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tube — a container
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. pass — to succeed
  13. band — a ring
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pass — a permit
  18. dip — to sink
  19. net — for catching
  20. kid — child
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. shower — rain
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. band — a rubber band

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