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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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. toast — a drink to someone
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. rest — what's left
  6. fork — in a road
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. clip — to cut
  10. toast — bread
  11. cold — not warm
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. rest — a break
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. clip — for paper
  16. spring — of water
  17. band — a ring
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. spring — the season
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. clip — a video
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. spring — a coil

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