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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: last · staff · kid · cap · jam · rule · band · bat

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a ring
  4. staff — employees
  5. staff — employees
  6. last — finally
  7. bat — the animal
  8. kid — to tease
  9. staff — a stick
  10. rule — a law
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. cap — a lid
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. band — a music group
  19. last — to go on
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. kid — child
  22. cap — of ice
  23. last — final
  24. cap — a hat

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