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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. swing — music
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — to play on
  8. pop — soda
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. kid — child
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. pop — to visit
  18. deal — to handle
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — to shout
  23. band — a ring
  24. pop — music

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