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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. dip — to sink
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. hand — help
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. saw — the tool
  12. band — a music group
  13. object — an aim
  14. saw — the tool
  15. object — to protest
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. squash — the sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. object — a thing
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. row — a line
  23. hand — in cards
  24. squash — to crush

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