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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. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. band — a music group
  4. pass — a permit
  5. band — a ring
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — an illness
  16. row — a line
  17. kick — in football
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — to paddle
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. plane — a tool
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. cold — not warm

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