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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. fall — to drop
  3. bass — the fish
  4. current — of water
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a ring
  12. fall — the season
  13. current — electric
  14. ground — the earth
  15. current — happening now
  16. ground — a position
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. ground — crushed
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. chair — a leader
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. band — a music group

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