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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. file — a line of people
  4. spring — the season
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. file — a tool
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. craft — a skill
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. spring — a coil
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. ground — the earth
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. ground — a position
  15. file — a document
  16. degree — from a university
  17. jam — a tight spot
  18. degree — an amount
  19. degree — temperature
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. ground — crushed
  22. band — a ring
  23. spring — of water
  24. craft — boats

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