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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · fall · rash · band · cap · snap · mine · bore

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cap — a hat
  3. fall — the season
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bore — to tire
  6. band — a ring
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — for digging
  13. bore — to drill
  14. fall — to drop
  15. season — of the year
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cap — of ice
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. snap — to click
  21. band — a music group
  22. cap — a lid
  23. season — in sport
  24. bore — gave birth

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