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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. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. band — a ring
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rash — a series
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. court — for sport
  9. march — the month
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. march — music
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. court — of a king
  18. court — of law
  19. cap — a hat
  20. rash — hasty
  21. band — a music group
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. march — the month

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