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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.

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 · spring · chair · chest · cap · band · pit · nail

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. band — a music group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. season — of the year
  5. band — a ring
  6. chair — a leader
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cap — a hat
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pit — in a race
  16. chest — a box
  17. cap — a lid
  18. season — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. pit — a hole
  24. spring — the season

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