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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. band — a ring
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. file — a line of people
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. wind — moving air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bat — the animal
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. wind — moving air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. file — a document
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. rush — hurry
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — to trim
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. band — a music group

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