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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. band — a ring
  5. club — a group
  6. club — for dancing
  7. cold — not warm
  8. chip — to eat
  9. band — a music group
  10. club — for golf
  11. ball — a dance
  12. cap — a lid
  13. cap — a hat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. cold — an illness
  16. ball — a great time
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chip — in a computer

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