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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. band — a music group
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. face — to confront
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. face — to point toward
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. bank — for money
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. face — part of the head
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bank — of a river
  23. bank — for money
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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