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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. last — to go on
  3. band — a music group
  4. cap — of ice
  5. last — finally
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a ring
  8. last — final
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — for catching
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cap — a lid
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. cold — not warm
  16. current — of water
  17. current — happening now
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — an illness
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. current — electric
  23. cap — a hat
  24. arm — part of the body

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