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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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. band — a ring
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. spring — a coil
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. band — a music group
  8. rush — hurry
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. snap — to click
  13. march — the month
  14. spring — the season
  15. ball — a dance
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bass — the fish
  19. march — music
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. bass — low music
  23. ball — a great time
  24. patient — a sick person

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