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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. squash — to crush
  3. court — of a king
  4. drill — army training
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. court — of law
  7. squash — the sport
  8. drill — a practice
  9. season — in sport
  10. drill — the tool
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. season — of the year
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — an illness
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. court — for sport
  17. last — to go on
  18. band — a music group
  19. can — a tin
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. can — a tin
  22. last — final
  23. cold — not warm
  24. can — to be able to

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