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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. cell — in biology
  4. file — a tool
  5. cap — of ice
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cap — a hat
  10. perch — the fish
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. charge — in control
  14. sharp — clever
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. band — a ring
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. cell — a phone
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. file — a document
  24. coach — a trainer

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