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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. kid — to tease
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. band — a ring
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. cap — of ice
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. band — a music group
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. club — a group
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. club — for dancing
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. club — for golf

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