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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. march — music
  3. land — to come down
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. rash — a series
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. land — ground
  9. march — the month
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. rash — hasty
  12. spring — the season
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. band — a music group
  15. ball — a great time
  16. spring — of water
  17. band — a ring
  18. land — a country
  19. rock — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — a stone
  23. vault — a safe
  24. march — the month

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