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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. club — a group
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. club — for dancing
  5. march — music
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. mine — for digging
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. march — the month
  12. club — for golf
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. march — the month
  15. bound — tied together
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. bound — obliged
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. bound — certain
  22. deal — to handle
  23. band — a music group
  24. mine — an explosive

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