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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — the month
  9. spell — letters
  10. march — music
  11. last — final
  12. spell — magic
  13. field — for sport
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. spell — a short time
  18. field — a subject
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. last — finally
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  24. band — a rubber band

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