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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. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. cap — of ice
  3. prune — to trim
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cold — not warm
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cap — a lid
  9. firm — decided
  10. chest — of your body
  11. suit — in cards
  12. band — a ring
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. track — to keep track
  15. suit — clothes
  16. firm — a company
  17. cold — an illness
  18. chest — a box
  19. prune — to trim
  20. band — a music group
  21. suit — to fit
  22. track — a path
  23. cap — a hat
  24. track — a song

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