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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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. rock — music
  3. clip — to cut
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. cap — of ice
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. clip — for paper
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. band — a ring
  13. cap — a lid
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. drill — army training
  17. drill — the tool
  18. clip — a video
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rock — a stone
  21. band — a music group
  22. stock — shares
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. rush — hurry

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