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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. file — a document
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. band — a music group
  7. prune — to trim
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. file — a tool
  12. band — a ring
  13. cap — of ice
  14. cap — a lid
  15. rash — a series
  16. row — a line
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. row — to paddle
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. rash — hasty
  24. prune — to trim

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