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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. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — for measuring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. track — a song
  7. bass — the fish
  8. march — the month
  9. spring — of water
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. march — music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. spring — the season
  15. bass — low music
  16. pound — a weight
  17. spring — a coil
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. march — the month

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