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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. tube — the underground
  3. spring — of water
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. spring — the season
  7. craft — boats
  8. face — to confront
  9. craft — a skill
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. band — a music group
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. face — to point toward
  17. cap — a lid
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cap — of ice
  21. face — part of the head
  22. band — a ring
  23. branch — a division
  24. tube — a container

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