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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. rush — hurry
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — of ice
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. cold — not warm
  8. firm — steady
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. firm — a company
  12. key — for a lock
  13. firm — decided
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. cap — a hat
  16. key — in music
  17. plane — a tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. band — a music group
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. lie — to recline
  24. cold — the Cold War

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