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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. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cue — for pool
  3. file — a line of people
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ground — a position
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. bat — the animal
  8. band — a ring
  9. court — of a king
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. file — a tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. cue — a hint
  15. file — a document
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cue — a signal
  19. band — a music group
  20. ground — crushed
  21. stand — to bear
  22. court — for sport
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — of law

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