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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. band — a ring
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — in sport
  6. kid — to tease
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. net — after costs
  9. bear — to put up with
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — child
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. net — for catching
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. bear — the animal
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. tube — a container
  21. bear — the animal
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — the animal

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