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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. band — a ring
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — in golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. wake — a trail
  13. club — for dancing
  14. pop — music
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. pop — soda
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. pop — to visit
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a music group
  22. last — to go on
  23. dip — to sink
  24. swing — music

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