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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.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

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

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. This piece is in a major ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. key — the most important part
  4. march — the month
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. kid — to tease
  7. march — the month
  8. kid — child
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. key — in music
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. key — for a lock
  13. game — wild animals
  14. band — a music group
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. band — a ring
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. game — a match

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