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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  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. hand — help
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — a stone
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cap — of ice
  9. rock — music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. cell — a phone
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. dip — to sink
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — in cards
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. cold — an illness
  21. band — a ring
  22. cap — a hat
  23. wax — to grow
  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