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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. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. club — a group
  4. toast — bread
  5. club — for dancing
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. last — finally
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. club — for golf
  13. cold — not warm
  14. land — a country
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. bore — to drill
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. cold — an illness
  19. last — to go on
  20. band — a ring
  21. land — ground
  22. bore — to tire
  23. last — final
  24. land — to come down

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