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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · can · hand · rash · band · plane · chest · fine

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — the animal
  6. chest — of your body
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. can — a tin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. chest — a box
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. band — a ring
  14. can — a tin
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fine — high quality
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. can — to be able to
  19. plane — a tool
  20. hand — in cards
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. fine — all right
  23. rash — a series
  24. band — a music group

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