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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. file — a line of people
  3. pit — a hole
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. craft — boats
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. pit — in a race
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. craft — a skill
  13. wax — to grow
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. ground — the earth
  16. ground — crushed
  17. file — a tool
  18. file — a document
  19. spell — a short time
  20. ground — a position
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. spell — magic
  24. spell — letters

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