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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. drill — a practice
  4. craft — boats
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. band — a ring
  7. drill — army training
  8. craft — a skill
  9. stock — goods
  10. stock — shares
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. present — the time now
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. wake — a trail
  17. drill — the tool
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — a match
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. present — a gift

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