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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — a match
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. band — a music group
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. game — wild animals
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. chair — a leader
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. game — a kind of play

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