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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — not warm
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. tube — a container
  8. band — a music group
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. band — a ring
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. club — for golf
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. club — a group
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. tube — the underground
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. saw — the tool

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