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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. ground — crushed
  4. ground — a position
  5. cap — a lid
  6. wind — moving air
  7. roll — a cake
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. track — a path
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — a hat
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. band — a music group
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cap — of ice
  20. wind — moving air
  21. band — a ring
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. roll — a list
  24. ground — the earth

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