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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cap — a lid
  3. pit — in a race
  4. pound — a weight
  5. track — a song
  6. track — to keep track
  7. cap — of ice
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. track — a path
  10. clip — to cut
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. clip — a video
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. spring — of water
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. cap — a hat
  21. band — a ring
  22. clip — for paper
  23. pit — a hole
  24. band — a music group

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