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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. chest — of your body
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. row — to paddle
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. march — the month
  13. pass — a permit
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a trace
  17. mark — a grade
  18. band — a music group
  19. squash — the sport
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. march — music
  22. chest — a box
  23. band — a ring
  24. bear — the animal

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