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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 120 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — the month
  6. march — the month
  7. club — for golf
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. rest — a break
  11. band — a music group
  12. bark — to shout
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. march — music
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. band — a ring
  23. wake — a trail
  24. club — a group

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