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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bass — the fish
  3. band — a ring
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. squash — the sport
  6. prune — to trim
  7. band — a music group
  8. prune — to trim
  9. squash — to crush
  10. drill — a practice
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. wax — to grow
  13. drill — army training
  14. cell — a phone
  15. wax — for sculpting
  16. present — the time now
  17. cell — in biology
  18. bass — low music
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. present — there
  22. present — a gift
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. drill — the tool

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