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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. cap — of ice
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. cue — a signal
  6. bank — for money
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. march — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. cue — a hint
  13. field — farmland
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bank — of a river
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. cap — a hat
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — army training
  22. field — a subject
  23. march — the month
  24. cue — for pool

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