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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. band — a music group
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. last — to go on
  6. cell — in biology
  7. can — a tin
  8. swing — music
  9. wake — a trail
  10. march — the month
  11. can — to be able to
  12. march — the month
  13. last — final
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. cell — a phone
  17. last — finally
  18. swing — in golf
  19. band — a ring
  20. swing — to play on
  21. rash — a series
  22. can — a tin
  23. march — music
  24. cell — in a prison

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