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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  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. band — a rubber band
  2. charge — in control
  3. lean — to bend
  4. charge — electricity
  5. track — to keep track
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. cold — not warm
  8. band — a music group
  9. track — a song
  10. lean — thin
  11. kid — child
  12. wound — an injury
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. charge — a price
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. track — a path
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — an illness
  22. plane — a tool
  23. wound — an injury
  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