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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. file — a line of people
  4. fall — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. spring — the season
  7. cap — a lid
  8. mate — a partner
  9. mate — a friend
  10. file — a tool
  11. fall — to drop
  12. mate — to breed
  13. spring — a coil
  14. firm — decided
  15. cap — a hat
  16. file — a document
  17. firm — steady
  18. fall — to drop
  19. firm — a company
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cap — of ice
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. dip — to sink
  24. band — a ring

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