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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 116 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a ring
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. club — for golf
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — soda
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. ball — a great time
  15. pop — music
  16. capital — money
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ball — a dance
  19. march — the month
  20. bulb — for light
  21. band — a music group
  22. club — a group
  23. bulb — for light
  24. capital — a big letter

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