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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. rash — hasty
  3. bore — to drill
  4. march — music
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. rash — a series
  8. land — to come down
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bound — certain
  11. march — the month
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. march — the month
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. last — finally
  17. land — ground
  18. date — the fruit
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. last — final
  21. last — to go on
  22. bore — to tire
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — on the skin

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