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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 polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. ground — the earth
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. club — for golf
  6. fall — the season
  7. club — for dancing
  8. ground — a position
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. cap — a hat
  11. band — a music group
  12. degree — temperature
  13. key — the most important part
  14. degree — an amount
  15. snap — to click
  16. ground — crushed
  17. band — a ring
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fall — to drop
  20. key — in music
  21. degree — from a university
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fall — to drop
  24. club — a group

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