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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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — a container
  3. object — a thing
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. spring — of water
  6. bear — the animal
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. object — to protest
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. object — an aim
  13. tube — the underground
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a tool
  16. spring — the season
  17. file — a line of people
  18. perch — the fish
  19. band — a ring
  20. snap — to click
  21. file — a document
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — to put up with

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