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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. track — a path
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. band — a ring
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tube — the underground
  8. date — the fruit
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. track — a song
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cold — an illness
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. tube — a container
  16. track — to keep track
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cap — of ice
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. band — a music group
  24. cap — a hat

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