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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 116 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bat — the animal
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. land — a country
  6. cap — a hat
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. stand — to bear
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. cap — a lid
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. ground — the earth
  17. cap — of ice
  18. ground — a position
  19. land — ground
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. ground — crushed
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. land — to come down
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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