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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. last — to go on
  3. squash — to crush
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. staff — employees
  6. kid — child
  7. staff — a stick
  8. kid — to tease
  9. last — finally
  10. drill — army training
  11. drill — the tool
  12. season — of the year
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. band — a ring
  15. staff — employees
  16. band — a music group
  17. drill — a practice
  18. season — in sport
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. squash — the sport
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. last — final
  24. season — to add flavour

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