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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 124 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  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 — the animal
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. band — a ring
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kid — to tease
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. season — in sport
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. kid — child
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. foot — the bottom
  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