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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. tube — the underground
  7. ball — a great time
  8. band — a music group
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — a group
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. present — the time now
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wound — an injury
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. tube — a container
  19. wound — an injury
  20. ball — a dance
  21. club — for golf
  22. band — a ring
  23. present — there
  24. club — for dancing

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