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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 120 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  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. kid — to tease
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rest — a break
  5. mug — a face
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a cup
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. drill — army training
  12. pop — to visit
  13. pop — music
  14. drill — a practice
  15. band — a ring
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. pop — soda
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. rest — what's left
  22. kid — child
  23. band — a music group
  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