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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: bore · file · season · cap · jam · stock · chest · band

  1. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bore — to tire
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cap — a lid
  6. season — in sport
  7. band — a music group
  8. season — of the year
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a line of people
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. stock — shares
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. cap — of ice
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cap — a hat
  19. file — a document
  20. bore — to drill
  21. file — a tool
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. stock — goods
  24. chest — a box

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