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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. cell — a phone
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pass — a permit
  6. season — in sport
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. season — of the year
  9. fine — high quality
  10. band — a music group
  11. fine — all right
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. content — the amount
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pop — to visit
  19. cold — not warm
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. content — happy
  22. cell — in biology
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. pop — music

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