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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bound — certain
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. band — a music group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. kid — to tease
  9. tube — a container
  10. kid — child
  11. ball — a great time
  12. saw — the tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bound — obliged
  19. shower — rain
  20. tube — the underground
  21. band — a ring
  22. ball — a dance
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bound — tied together

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