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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: bat · plane · rest · wave · band · fork · cue · mine

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. rest — a break
  8. cue — a signal
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. cue — for pool
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. rest — what's left
  13. cue — a hint
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bat — the animal
  19. plane — a tool
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a music group
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. rest — what's left

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