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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. court — for sport
  3. last — final
  4. scale — in music
  5. court — of law
  6. band — a music group
  7. drill — a practice
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. object — to protest
  10. drill — army training
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. drill — the tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. last — to go on
  16. object — a thing
  17. band — a ring
  18. court — of a king
  19. last — finally
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. scale — size or range
  22. object — an aim
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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