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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 116 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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. mug — a face
  4. march — music
  5. charge — in control
  6. charge — electricity
  7. charge — a price
  8. chair — a leader
  9. band — a ring
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. march — the month
  12. file — a line of people
  13. squash — to crush
  14. mug — to rob
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. file — a tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. perch — the fish
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. mug — a cup
  21. march — the month
  22. squash — the sport
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. file — a document

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