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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. game — a match
  3. deal — to handle
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. pop — soda
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. bat — the animal
  11. pop — to visit
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. rash — hasty
  14. band — a music group
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. race — a contest
  18. race — humankind
  19. pop — music
  20. rash — a series
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. race — the arms race
  24. band — a ring

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