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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're on a ________________ here.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. prune — to trim
  6. band — a ring
  7. cold — an illness
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. present — a gift
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cold — not warm
  13. band — a music group
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. pop — soda
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pop — to visit
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. pop — music
  20. present — there
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. present — the time now
  23. roll — a list
  24. roll — a cake

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