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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: mug · ball · last · present · saw · band · chest · bat

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. saw — the tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. present — there
  5. ball — a dance
  6. chest — a box
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ball — a great time
  10. mug — a face
  11. bat — the animal
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. present — a gift
  14. last — finally
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — to go on
  17. chest — of your body
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mug — to rob
  21. mug — a cup
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. last — final
  24. present — the time now

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