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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. swing — music
  3. craft — a skill
  4. chest — of your body
  5. squash — the sport
  6. swing — in golf
  7. scale — size or range
  8. craft — boats
  9. chest — a box
  10. band — a ring
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. swing — to play on
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. chest — of your body
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. squash — to crush
  19. spell — magic
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. band — a music group
  23. scale — in music
  24. spell — letters

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