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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. band — a ring
  3. snap — to click
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. band — a music group
  6. cold — not warm
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. craft — a skill
  10. craft — boats
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — electric
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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