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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. band — a music group
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mate — a partner
  6. march — the month
  7. cap — a hat
  8. bass — low music
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cap — a lid
  11. game — a match
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. cap — of ice
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. march — the month
  20. fork — in a road
  21. march — music
  22. bass — the fish
  23. band — a ring
  24. mate — a friend

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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