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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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bulb — for light
  3. band — a ring
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. content — the amount
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. band — a music group
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bulb — for light
  14. content — happy
  15. tear — from crying
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ball — a dance
  21. tear — to rip
  22. stand — to bear
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ball — a great time

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