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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rash — hasty
  3. march — the month
  4. cue — a signal
  5. cue — a hint
  6. season — of the year
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. cue — for pool
  10. season — in sport
  11. march — music
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. rash — a series
  14. row — a line
  15. band — a ring
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. row — to paddle
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. march — the month
  24. bowl — to roll

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