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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 120 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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rest — a break
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. dip — to sink
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a ring
  15. degree — an amount
  16. degree — temperature
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — of ice
  19. degree — from a university
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. rush — hurry
  22. band — a music group
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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