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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. cap — a hat
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. scale — size or range
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stock — shares
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. wake — a trail
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. band — a music group
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. cap — of ice
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. kick — in football
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stock — goods
  22. scale — in music
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. cap — a lid

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