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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: snap · bat · band · rush · cell · calf · jam · fork

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. cell — in biology
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. band — a ring
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. band — a music group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — the animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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