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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. rush — hurry
  5. court — for sport
  6. lean — thin
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. lean — to bend
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. band — a ring
  17. march — the month
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. court — of a king
  20. bass — low music
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. court — of law
  23. face — part of the head
  24. cabinet — ministers

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