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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. cap — a hat
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cap — a lid
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a document
  10. cap — of ice
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mate — to breed
  15. firm — steady
  16. firm — decided
  17. mate — a partner
  18. spring — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a ring
  22. firm — a company
  23. deal — to handle
  24. file — a tool

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