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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wind — moving air
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. band — a ring
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. rush — hurry
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. cap — a lid
  16. branch — a division
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. last — to go on
  19. last — finally
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — a hat

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