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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. band — a music group
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. band — a ring
  5. season — in sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. track — a song
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. firm — decided
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. track — to keep track
  12. hand — in cards
  13. march — the month
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. firm — a company
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. hand — help
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. firm — steady
  22. dip — to sink
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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