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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — an illness
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. band — a ring
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bear — the animal
  7. cold — not warm
  8. kid — child
  9. hand — in cards
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. suit — in cards
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. suit — to fit
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — to tease
  20. band — a music group
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. suit — clothes
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. hand — help

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