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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. pop — music
  7. rock — a stone
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. cap — a lid
  10. suit — to fit
  11. cap — of ice
  12. pop — to visit
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. suit — in cards
  15. file — a tool
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. suit — clothes
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. pop — soda
  21. file — a document
  22. cap — a hat
  23. rock — music
  24. file — a line of people

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