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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fine — high quality
  4. cap — a hat
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cold — an illness
  8. file — a document
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cap — of ice
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. present — a gift
  13. band — a music group
  14. shower — rain
  15. present — the time now
  16. file — a tool
  17. cold — not warm
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. present — there
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ball — a great time
  22. band — a ring
  23. fine — all right
  24. cap — a lid

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