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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cap — a lid
  4. last — final
  5. band — a music group
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. last — finally
  9. cap — of ice
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. clip — for paper
  14. clip — a video
  15. last — to go on
  16. band — a ring
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — in an idiom

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