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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. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. cap — of ice
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pop — soda
  5. key — the most important part
  6. pop — music
  7. track — a path
  8. band — a ring
  9. track — a song
  10. bass — low music
  11. cap — a lid
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. bass — the fish
  16. march — the month
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. track — to keep track
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. key — in music
  24. pop — to visit

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