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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 124 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. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. tube — a container
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. foot — a measure
  9. cap — of ice
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bay — a part of the sea
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bat — the animal
  17. band — a music group
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. fine — high quality
  20. cap — a lid
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cap — a hat
  24. date — 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