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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. march — music
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. tube — the underground
  6. march — the month
  7. tube — a container
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. fall — the season
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fall — to drop
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. mate — a partner
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bear — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. shower — rain
  21. fall — to drop
  22. mate — a friend
  23. march — the month
  24. bear — the animal

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