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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 works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bark — to shout
  3. band — a ring
  4. saw — the tool
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. hand — in cards
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — the season
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. spring — a coil
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. kid — child
  23. hand — help
  24. band — a music group

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