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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. band — a ring
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. club — for dancing
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. deal — to handle
  7. clip — to cut
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — of your body
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. club — a group
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. club — for golf
  15. chip — for betting
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. chest — a box
  18. clip — for paper
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. band — a music group
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chest — of your body
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. mine — an explosive

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