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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. spring — the season
  4. cap — a lid
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. stock — goods
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cap — of ice
  10. stock — shares
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. clip — a video
  13. shower — to wash
  14. cap — a hat
  15. spring — a coil
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. clip — to cut
  18. shower — rain
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. spring — of water
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. band — a music group

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