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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a music group
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. march — the month
  6. kid — child
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a great time
  9. march — music
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. present — the time now
  14. march — the month
  15. present — there
  16. content — the amount
  17. saw — the tool
  18. band — a ring
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. content — happy
  23. kid — to tease
  24. content — videos and posts

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