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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The tickets are free of ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — of ice
  2. charge — electricity
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — a hat
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. cap — a lid
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. prune — to trim
  10. charge — in control
  11. last — to go on
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. band — a music group
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. last — final
  16. scale — in music
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. charge — a price
  19. last — finally
  20. scale — size or range
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. prune — to trim

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