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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mine — for digging
  3. file — a line of people
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. cap — a hat
  6. stem — to come from
  7. wake — a trail
  8. press — a publisher
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. band — a ring
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. file — a document
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cap — a lid
  16. file — a tool
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. press — newspapers
  22. press — to push
  23. cap — of ice
  24. stem — a stem cell

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