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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 120 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. shower — rain
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a music group
  7. track — a path
  8. mate — a partner
  9. can — to be able to
  10. ground — crushed
  11. can — a tin
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. ground — a position
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. can — a tin
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. shower — to wash
  21. ground — the earth
  22. mate — a friend
  23. march — music
  24. track — a song

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