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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. march — music
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. dip — to sink
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bass — low music
  7. bound — certain
  8. chair — a leader
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. bound — tied together
  12. band — a ring
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. date — the fruit
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bass — the fish
  17. march — the month
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. bat — the animal
  21. march — the month
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. bound — obliged

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