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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. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. mark — a trace
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. net — for catching
  5. cap — a lid
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. spell — a short time
  13. wound — an injury
  14. band — a ring
  15. net — after costs
  16. cap — a hat
  17. wound — an injury
  18. net — in sport
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. cell — in biology
  23. mark — a grade
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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