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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. spring — of water
  3. cap — of ice
  4. spring — a coil
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. staff — a stick
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. staff — employees
  9. band — a ring
  10. cap — a hat
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. spring — the season
  13. staff — employees
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — a video
  16. tear — to rip
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tear — from crying
  19. clip — to cut
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. tear — from crying
  22. clip — for paper
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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