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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 always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. march — the month
  4. last — final
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. game — a match
  8. game — wild animals
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. band — a ring
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. cap — of ice
  17. cap — a hat
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. last — finally
  20. bark — to shout
  21. last — to go on
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cap — a lid

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