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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. land — ground
  4. cap — of ice
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. bound — obliged
  7. bound — tied together
  8. cold — not warm
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. fork — in a road
  11. land — to come down
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. cold — an illness
  15. branch — a division
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. cap — a lid
  18. cap — a hat
  19. band — a music group
  20. land — a country
  21. bound — certain
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. band — a ring
  24. branch — of a bank

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