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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. cap — of ice
  4. bass — low music
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. court — for sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. band — a ring
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — of law
  12. band — a music group
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. object — an aim
  17. bass — the fish
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. court — of a king
  21. cap — a lid
  22. object — a thing
  23. hand — help
  24. wake — a trail

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