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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: club · mug · toast · wind · row · hand · fork · band

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. mug — to rob
  3. hand — help
  4. row — a line
  5. mug — a face
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. club — a group
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fork — in a road
  12. club — for dancing
  13. wind — moving air
  14. row — to paddle
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. toast — the most admired
  17. toast — bread
  18. band — a music group
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. club — for golf
  21. band — a ring
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. fork — to eat with

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