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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a ring
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — after costs
  6. hand — help
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. root — of a plant
  9. key — in music
  10. root — of a word
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. key — for a lock
  14. bat — the animal
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. net — in sport
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. hand — in cards
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. key — the most important part
  22. root — the cause
  23. net — for catching
  24. bat — for baseball

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