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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rest — what's left
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cap — of ice
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. cap — a lid
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. cell — a phone
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cap — a hat
  17. rest — what's left
  18. rest — a break
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. scale — in music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. band — a music group
  24. scale — size or range

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