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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 ________________ went through the wall.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. track — a song
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. present — there
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. present — the time now
  11. band — a music group
  12. present — a gift
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. saw — the tool
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. band — a ring
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. track — a path
  21. saw — the tool
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. track — to keep track

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