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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 ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. track — to keep track
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. roll — a cake
  5. fall — to drop
  6. cell — in biology
  7. roll — a list
  8. band — a ring
  9. fall — to drop
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. cell — a phone
  13. cap — a lid
  14. dip — to sink
  15. staff — a stick
  16. track — a song
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fall — the season
  19. cap — of ice
  20. band — a music group
  21. staff — employees
  22. staff — employees
  23. track — a path
  24. cap — a hat

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