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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. spring — of water
  4. mug — to rob
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. band — a ring
  10. mug — a face
  11. cap — a hat
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. lean — thin
  14. spring — the season
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. stand — to bear
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a music group
  20. lean — to bend
  21. mug — a cup
  22. cap — of ice
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cap — a lid

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