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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — a lid
  5. row — a line
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. cap — a hat
  8. plane — a tool
  9. fine — high quality
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. fine — all right
  14. cap — of ice
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. band — a music group
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. row — to paddle
  20. bear — the animal
  21. snap — to click
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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