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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. drill — a practice
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cap — a hat
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. cap — of ice
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. drill — army training
  10. game — a match
  11. chip — to eat
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. cap — a lid
  16. wind — moving air
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chip — for betting
  21. drill — the tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. band — a ring

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