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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — not warm
  3. pit — a hole
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. pit — in a race
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. track — to keep track
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. track — a song
  10. face — to point toward
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. face — part of the head
  13. band — a music group
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. track — a path
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — an illness
  20. face — to confront
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. band — a ring
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. coach — a trainer

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