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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mark — a grade
  3. shower — rain
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. ball — a great time
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. cold — an illness
  9. ball — a dance
  10. land — a country
  11. mark — a trace
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bulb — for light
  16. land — ground
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cold — not warm
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. land — to come down
  23. band — a ring
  24. shower — to wash

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