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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. march — music
  3. ball — a great time
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. current — electric
  6. rash — hasty
  7. wax — to grow
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. stock — shares
  10. band — a ring
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. current — of water
  15. stock — goods
  16. march — the month
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. current — happening now
  22. rash — a series
  23. march — the month
  24. band — a music group

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