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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. pop — soda
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pop — music
  5. track — a song
  6. band — a music group
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. lean — thin
  9. lean — to bend
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. track — to keep track
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. pop — to visit
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stem — to come from
  16. track — a path
  17. last — final
  18. last — finally
  19. drill — a practice
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. pit — in a race
  22. last — to go on
  23. pit — a hole
  24. drill — army training

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