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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bear — the animal
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. field — a subject
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. field — farmland
  10. kid — child
  11. squash — to crush
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. band — a music group
  14. squash — the sport
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. bear — the animal
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. band — a ring
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. sharp — clever
  23. field — for sport
  24. squash — the vegetable

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