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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: band · can · fall · rock · squash · cell · chest · kid

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chest — a box
  4. squash — to crush
  5. kid — to tease
  6. rock — music
  7. cell — a phone
  8. fall — to drop
  9. rock — a stone
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. can — to be able to
  12. can — a tin
  13. kid — child
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a ring
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a music group
  22. can — a tin
  23. chest — of your body
  24. cell — in biology

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