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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — a hat
  3. row — to paddle
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. kick — in football
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — of ice
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. stand — to bear
  12. fork — in a road
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rush — hurry
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cap — a lid
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. chest — a box
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. row — a line

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