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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. mug — a face
  3. band — a ring
  4. march — the month
  5. scale — in music
  6. mug — a cup
  7. band — a music group
  8. game — a match
  9. march — music
  10. rush — hurry
  11. last — final
  12. bank — for money
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bank — for money
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. mug — to rob
  19. march — the month
  20. last — finally
  21. last — to go on
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. bank — of a river
  24. scale — size or range

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