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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. swing — to play on
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. swing — music
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. tube — the underground
  13. land — to come down
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. land — ground
  16. bat — the animal
  17. land — a country
  18. squash — the sport
  19. band — a music group
  20. deal — to handle
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. tube — a container

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