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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. club — for dancing
  4. season — of the year
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. season — in sport
  9. club — a group
  10. scale — size or range
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. scale — in music
  13. content — happy
  14. spell — letters
  15. game — wild animals
  16. spell — a short time
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. spell — magic
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. club — for golf
  23. content — the amount
  24. rash — hasty

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