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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 116 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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pop — soda
  4. band — a ring
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bank — for money
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. pop — to visit
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pop — music
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bank — for money
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. band — a music group
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — of water
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. spring — a coil

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