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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — of ice
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. band — a music group
  11. rush — hurry
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. sharp — clever
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. roll — a cake
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. cap — a lid
  19. saw — the tool
  20. roll — a list
  21. cap — a hat
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. kid — child
  24. saw — the tool

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