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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 116 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. fork — in a road
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. club — a group
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. staff — employees
  11. club — for golf
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. staff — a stick
  15. race — a contest
  16. band — a ring
  17. staff — employees
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. march — the month
  20. club — for dancing
  21. chair — a leader
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. race — humankind

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