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

Word bank: stick · toast · net · band · kid · mouse · coach · row

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. band — a ring
  4. toast — bread
  5. net — in sport
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. band — a music group
  9. kid — to tease
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. kid — child
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. row — a line
  14. net — after costs
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. net — for catching

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