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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. track — a path
  3. band — a music group
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. row — to paddle
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. row — a line
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. squash — the sport
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — rain
  14. bat — the animal
  15. shower — to wash
  16. band — a ring
  17. tube — the underground
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. track — a song
  21. squash — to crush
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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