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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. prune — to trim
  3. scale — size or range
  4. pop — to visit
  5. band — a music group
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. pop — soda
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. scale — in music
  12. pop — music
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. saw — the tool
  15. band — a ring
  16. prune — to trim
  17. saw — the tool
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. club — for dancing
  21. perch — the fish
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. sharp — clever

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