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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cap — of ice
  4. cap — a hat
  5. spring — of water
  6. band — a ring
  7. spring — the season
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. mate — to breed
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. spring — a coil
  13. band — a music group
  14. cap — a lid
  15. deal — to handle
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a rubber band

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