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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. band — a ring
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. cap — a lid
  7. degree — temperature
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. track — a path
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. cell — a phone
  12. cap — of ice
  13. track — to keep track
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. band — a music group
  16. degree — from a university
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. degree — an amount
  19. cap — a hat
  20. mark — a trace
  21. mark — a grade
  22. cell — in biology
  23. track — a song
  24. coach — a trainer

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