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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. toast — bread
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. rock — a stone
  5. pop — to visit
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — the animal
  13. band — a music group
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. pop — music
  16. hand — help
  17. pop — soda
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. rock — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. mouse — for a computer

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