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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. pop — soda
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. band — a ring
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — the tool
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. pop — music
  13. drill — a practice
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — to play on
  16. swing — in golf
  17. pop — to visit
  18. last — to go on
  19. swing — music
  20. last — final
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. band — a music group
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. fall — the season

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