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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  16. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. band — a music group
  5. kid — to tease
  6. kid — child
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rash — a series
  9. bound — certain
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. toast — a drink to someone
  17. spring — the season
  18. toast — bread
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bound — tied together
  21. spring — a coil
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bound — obliged
  24. spring — of water

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