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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. cap — a hat
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. tear — from crying
  7. kick — in football
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bulb — for light
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. cap — a lid
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. march — the month
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. march — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. band — a music group
  21. tear — to rip
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. tear — from crying
  24. kick — a thrill

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