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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.

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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 was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. band — a ring
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. shower — to wash
  5. firm — decided
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. drill — army training
  8. band — a music group
  9. firm — a company
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. sharp — clever
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. mine — for digging
  14. rash — a series
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. drill — the tool
  17. firm — steady
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. shower — rain
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. rash — hasty
  24. drill — a practice

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