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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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. lash — to lash out
  3. spell — letters
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. capital — a city
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. net — after costs
  9. band — a ring
  10. kid — to tease
  11. net — in sport
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ball — a dance
  17. mug — to rob
  18. lash — a whip stroke
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. net — for catching
  21. spell — magic
  22. capital — money
  23. band — a music group
  24. kid — child

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