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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — not warm
  3. band — a music group
  4. pitch — completely
  5. row — a line
  6. staff — a stick
  7. foot — a measure
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. staff — employees
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. cold — an illness
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. band — a ring
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. staff — employees
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. row — to paddle

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