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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 drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. nail — for a hammer
  2. band — a ring
  3. file — a line of people
  4. last — final
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cap — of ice
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. season — in sport
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. cap — a lid
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. file — a tool
  16. game — wild animals
  17. last — finally
  18. cap — a hat
  19. file — a document
  20. season — of the year
  21. last — to go on
  22. branch — a division
  23. game — a match
  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