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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. rash — hasty
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. cap — a lid
  6. band — a ring
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. rash — a series
  10. bulb — for light
  11. chip — to eat
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a line of people
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. chip — for betting
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. band — a music group
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. cap — a hat
  24. file — a document

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