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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. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  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. rest — what's left
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. rest — what's left
  5. game — a match
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. cap — a hat
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cap — a lid
  10. band — a music group
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. cold — an illness
  15. object — to protest
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. object — an aim
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. object — a thing
  20. cap — of ice
  21. game — wild animals
  22. cold — not warm
  23. band — a ring
  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