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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cap — a hat
  3. key — in music
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cap — a lid
  8. plane — a tool
  9. cue — a hint
  10. cue — for pool
  11. key — for a lock
  12. key — the most important part
  13. band — a ring
  14. cue — a signal
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. rash — a series
  17. cap — of ice
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. rash — hasty
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bat — the animal
  24. plane — in geometry

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