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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. band — a ring
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. spring — a coil
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. spring — of water
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fine — all right
  14. spring — the season
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hand — help
  17. band — a music group
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. fine — high quality
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — the underground

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