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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. last — to go on
  4. band — a music group
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. rash — a series
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. clip — to cut
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. rash — hasty
  14. file — a document
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. cap — of ice
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. file — a tool
  19. clip — for paper
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. cap — a lid
  22. band — a ring
  23. clip — a video
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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