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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. band — a ring
  3. shower — to wash
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. shower — rain
  6. march — the month
  7. can — to be able to
  8. can — a tin
  9. field — farmland
  10. season — of the year
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a music group
  15. march — music
  16. field — for sport
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — a subject
  23. can — a tin
  24. season — in sport

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