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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — the amount
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — a stone
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cold — an illness
  8. cap — a hat
  9. rock — music
  10. mark — a trace
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — happy
  13. mark — a grade
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wound — an injury
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cold — the Cold War

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