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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. rock — music
  3. band — a music group
  4. snap — to click
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. march — the month
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. root — of a word
  9. root — the cause
  10. shower — to wash
  11. shower — rain
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. root — of a plant
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. sharp — clever
  22. march — the month
  23. rock — a stone
  24. march — music

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