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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. pass — a permit
  3. bank — for money
  4. band — a ring
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. game — wild animals
  7. drill — army training
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. drill — a practice
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bank — of a river
  12. scale — size or range
  13. bank — for money
  14. scale — in music
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. bat — the animal
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. pass — to succeed
  20. drill — the tool
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. pass — to spend time

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