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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — to trim
  6. hand — help
  7. march — the month
  8. capital — money
  9. mug — a face
  10. band — a ring
  11. prune — to trim
  12. cap — a lid
  13. mug — to rob
  14. band — a music group
  15. cap — a hat
  16. mug — a cup
  17. march — music
  18. rule — government
  19. hand — in cards
  20. capital — a city
  21. rule — a law
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. prune — the fruit

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