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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. land — to come down
  3. spring — of water
  4. band — a music group
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. charge — a price
  7. wake — a trail
  8. track — to keep track
  9. cap — a lid
  10. charge — electricity
  11. land — ground
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — a country
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. ground — a position
  16. track — a song
  17. band — a ring
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — a coil
  20. charge — in control
  21. ground — crushed
  22. cap — of ice
  23. cap — a hat
  24. spring — the season

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