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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. chip — to eat
  3. season — of the year
  4. track — a song
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. land — ground
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. chip — for betting
  9. band — a music group
  10. cell — a phone
  11. cell — in biology
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. cap — a hat
  14. track — to keep track
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. land — to come down
  18. season — in sport
  19. band — a ring
  20. track — a path
  21. cap — of ice
  22. land — a country
  23. cap — a lid
  24. rush — to hurry

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