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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. mine — for digging
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. land — to come down
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. band — a ring
  12. march — music
  13. drill — army training
  14. land — ground
  15. drill — a practice
  16. wax — for sculpting
  17. rash — a series
  18. march — the month
  19. drill — the tool
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. wax — to grow
  23. band — a music group
  24. land — a country

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