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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. cell — in biology
  4. swing — music
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. swing — in golf
  10. wind — moving air
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. swing — to play on
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. board — to get on
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cell — a phone
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. board — a committee
  19. wind — moving air
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. band — a ring
  22. march — the month
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. straw — a straw man

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