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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. cue — a hint
  3. march — music
  4. land — to come down
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — of ice
  7. march — the month
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cue — for pool
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — a hat
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. land — a country
  15. cue — a signal
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. band — a music group
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — a price
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. march — the month
  22. band — a ring
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. charge — in control

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