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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 116 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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. board — to get on
  3. scale — in music
  4. band — a ring
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — an illness
  7. file — a document
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — a lid
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. board — a committee
  16. file — a tool
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wake — a trail
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. file — a line of people
  22. band — a music group
  23. cap — a hat
  24. board — a flat piece

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