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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: roll · chest · cap · bound · spell · band · present · current

  1. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a hat
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. present — there
  5. spell — a short time
  6. cap — of ice
  7. chest — a box
  8. current — of water
  9. roll — a list
  10. present — a gift
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bound — obliged
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a cake
  15. current — electric
  16. present — the time now
  17. current — happening now
  18. bound — certain
  19. spell — letters
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bound — tied together
  22. band — a ring
  23. band — a music group
  24. spell — magic

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