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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — the tool
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ball — a round shape
  5. ball — a dance
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — to tease
  11. band — a ring
  12. foot — a measure
  13. content — happy
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. kid — child
  16. content — the amount
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. band — a music group
  22. ball — a great time
  23. saw — the tool
  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