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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. swing — to play on
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pop — music
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. swing — music
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to click
  15. squash — to crush
  16. sharp — clever
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. band — a music group
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. swing — in golf
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. band — a ring
  23. pop — soda
  24. pop — to visit

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