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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. band — a music group
  3. staff — a stick
  4. kid — child
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. shower — rain
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. staff — employees
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. staff — employees
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. kid — to tease
  17. band — a ring
  18. rush — hurry
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — a video
  22. wake — a trail
  23. clip — to cut
  24. shower — to wash

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