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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 120 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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. squash — the sport
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. squash — to crush
  6. spring — the season
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. march — the month
  9. band — a ring
  10. spring — a coil
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. mate — a friend
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chair — a leader
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. cap — a lid
  18. march — the month
  19. mate — to breed
  20. march — music
  21. spring — of water
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mate — a partner

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