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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. club — for golf
  3. band — a ring
  4. mark — a grade
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a music group
  12. club — for dancing
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. club — a group
  17. march — the month
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. net — after costs
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. mark — a trace
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. net — in sport

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