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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. club — a group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. band — a music group
  5. scale — in music
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. mark — a grade
  8. content — happy
  9. bark — to shout
  10. cap — a lid
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. drill — the tool
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. content — the amount
  16. club — for golf
  17. cap — a hat
  18. drill — a practice
  19. drill — army training
  20. mark — a trace
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. scale — size or range
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. club — for dancing

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