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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. ball — a dance
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. object — an aim
  9. craft — a skill
  10. cap — a hat
  11. chip — for betting
  12. cap — of ice
  13. craft — boats
  14. ball — a great time
  15. band — a music group
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. cold — an illness
  20. object — a thing
  21. chip — to eat
  22. object — to protest
  23. cold — not warm
  24. craft — a handicraft

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