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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. land — to come down
  3. file — a line of people
  4. cap — a hat
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. season — of the year
  9. land — a country
  10. band — a music group
  11. cue — for pool
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. file — a tool
  14. cap — a lid
  15. file — a document
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. land — ground
  18. band — a ring
  19. cue — a hint
  20. season — in sport
  21. cue — a signal
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cap — of ice

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