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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chip — for betting
  4. net — for catching
  5. chip — to eat
  6. face — to point toward
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. kick — in football
  10. net — after costs
  11. band — a music group
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. net — in sport
  17. squash — to crush
  18. face — to confront
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. band — a ring
  21. face — part of the head
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. lash — an eyelash

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