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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. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. craft — boats
  3. game — a match
  4. game — wild animals
  5. cold — an illness
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — to protest
  9. object — an aim
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. craft — a skill
  13. rule — government
  14. fall — to drop
  15. band — a music group
  16. fall — to drop
  17. key — in music
  18. key — for a lock
  19. rule — a law
  20. key — the most important part
  21. band — a ring
  22. fall — the season
  23. object — a thing
  24. cold — not warm

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