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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. mug — a face
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. lean — thin
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. chair — a leader
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. mug — a cup
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — a lid
  16. band — a ring
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — the animal
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mug — to rob

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