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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. present — a gift
  4. row — a line
  5. march — the month
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. mate — to breed
  8. squash — the sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. march — the month
  11. scale — in music
  12. band — a ring
  13. mate — a friend
  14. band — a music group
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. present — the time now
  17. squash — to crush
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. present — there
  20. rash — a series
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rash — hasty
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mate — a partner

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