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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. bark — to shout
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. season — of the year
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. bass — low music
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. stem — to come from
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. season — in sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. stem — of a plant

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