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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 116 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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rush — hurry
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. tear — from crying
  6. race — a contest
  7. march — the month
  8. charge — electricity
  9. dip — to sink
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. bass — the fish
  12. band — a ring
  13. tear — from crying
  14. march — the month
  15. race — the arms race
  16. band — a music group
  17. charge — a price
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. bass — low music
  20. race — humankind
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. tear — to rip
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. charge — in control

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