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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bat — the animal
  4. file — a tool
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. file — a line of people
  11. band — a music group
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. roll — a cake
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. file — a document
  17. fine — all right
  18. roll — a list
  19. band — a ring
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. hand — in cards
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fine — high quality
  24. hand — help

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