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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. David sat on the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  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. band — a music group
  2. swing — to play on
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. ground — the earth
  8. band — a ring
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. cap — a lid
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cap — of ice
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. ground — a position
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. rash — hasty
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. ground — crushed
  22. rash — a series
  23. swing — music
  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