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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rest — what's left
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. bark — to shout
  6. charge — electricity
  7. prune — to trim
  8. cap — a hat
  9. charge — in control
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a music group
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. last — final
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — the season
  17. charge — a price
  18. cap — a lid
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. prune — to trim
  21. last — to go on
  22. spring — of water
  23. cap — of ice
  24. prune — the fruit

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