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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. band — a music group
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bay — a part of the sea
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. cold — not warm
  13. cap — a lid
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. cap — of ice
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. row — to paddle
  19. chair — a leader
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. land — a country
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. band — a ring
  24. bay — a horse colour

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