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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. band — a music group
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. wake — a trail
  7. can — a tin
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. kid — child
  12. deal — to handle
  13. last — finally
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. last — final
  17. last — to go on
  18. can — a tin
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. can — to be able to
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. band — a ring
  24. bowl — a football final

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