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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. suit — clothes
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. court — of a king
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. kid — to tease
  12. squash — the sport
  13. band — a music group
  14. suit — to fit
  15. suit — in cards
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. court — of law
  18. craft — boats
  19. kid — child
  20. shower — to wash
  21. court — for sport
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. shower — rain
  24. fine — high quality

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