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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 116 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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rest — a break
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. last — finally
  5. last — to go on
  6. march — the month
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. rock — a stone
  10. deal — to handle
  11. cap — a lid
  12. rest — what's left
  13. game — wild animals
  14. cap — a hat
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. band — a music group
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. last — final
  19. march — music
  20. march — the month
  21. game — a match
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cap — of ice
  24. band — a ring

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