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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. stick — to attach or keep to
  3. band — a music group
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — an illness
  6. prune — to trim
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. cap — a lid
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. prune — to trim
  11. band — a ring
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cap — a hat
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cold — not warm

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