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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 120 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. file — a line of people
  3. ground — crushed
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. cap — a hat
  7. firm — steady
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. ground — a position
  10. cap — of ice
  11. kid — to tease
  12. press — to push
  13. firm — decided
  14. file — a document
  15. ground — the earth
  16. wax — to grow
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. press — a publisher
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — child
  21. file — a tool
  22. firm — a company
  23. cap — a lid
  24. press — newspapers

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