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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. suit — clothes
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. spring — the season
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. plane — a tool
  11. cold — an illness
  12. suit — in cards
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bore — to tire
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. current — happening now
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — not warm
  21. suit — to fit
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. spring — of water
  24. plane — an aircraft

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