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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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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: hand · bat · saw · band · tube · roll · lash · bowl

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. tube — a container
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. roll — a list
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. roll — a cake
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. band — a ring
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. band — a music group
  17. hand — in cards
  18. tube — the underground
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. saw — the tool
  24. hand — help

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