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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. track — a path
  3. shower — rain
  4. cap — a hat
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. season — in sport
  8. band — a music group
  9. track — to keep track
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. band — a ring
  12. shower — to wash
  13. present — the time now
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. capital — money
  16. season — of the year
  17. cap — a lid
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. capital — a city
  23. cap — of ice
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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