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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. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. last — finally
  4. board — to get on
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — a coil
  9. craft — a skill
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. march — music
  12. fine — high quality
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. board — a committee
  17. band — a music group
  18. fine — all right
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. craft — boats
  24. band — a rubber band

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