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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. bark — to shout
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. band — a ring
  7. rock — music
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. swing — to play on
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. swing — music
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cold — not warm
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. band — a music group
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rock — to move gently

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