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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 120 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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cap — a lid
  3. present — there
  4. cap — of ice
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — to tease
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cue — for pool
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. present — a gift
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. cue — a hint
  14. band — a ring
  15. present — the time now
  16. cap — a hat
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. prune — to trim
  20. cold — an illness
  21. kid — child
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cue — a signal
  24. band — a rubber band

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