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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. That must've been a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. ground — the earth
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. pop — soda
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pop — to visit
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. march — the month
  11. pop — music
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. ground — crushed
  14. ground — a position
  15. band — a ring
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. rush — hurry
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. march — music
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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