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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a ring
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. band — a music group
  10. club — for golf
  11. rash — a series
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — in music
  16. club — for dancing
  17. hand — help
  18. bat — the animal
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. hand — in cards
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bat — for baseball

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