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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. rest — a break
  5. cue — a signal
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. pop — music
  8. pop — soda
  9. cap — a hat
  10. craft — boats
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. cap — of ice
  13. cue — a hint
  14. craft — a skill
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. band — a ring
  20. cap — a lid
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cue — for pool
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. band — a music group

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