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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. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  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. cap — of ice
  2. charge — electricity
  3. spring — the season
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. charge — a price
  8. spring — a coil
  9. charge — in control
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. swing — music
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spring — of water
  18. cap — a lid
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cap — a hat
  21. swing — to play on
  22. swing — in golf
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  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