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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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. pit — in a race
  7. cap — a hat
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. cap — a lid
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. lean — to bend
  12. cap — of ice
  13. chip — for betting
  14. lean — thin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. season — of the year
  17. pit — a hole
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. toast — bread
  20. season — in sport
  21. band — a music group
  22. chip — to eat
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. season — to add flavour

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