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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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bark — to shout
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bear — the animal
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. spell — magic
  10. cap — a hat
  11. wake — a trail
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. band — a music group
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. spell — a short time
  16. march — music
  17. bear — the animal
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cap — a lid
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. march — the month
  23. spell — letters
  24. fan — to cool the air

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