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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 124 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — of water
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. march — music
  7. march — the month
  8. toast — bread
  9. board — to get on
  10. spring — a coil
  11. bound — certain
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. spring — the season
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. club — for golf
  16. bound — obliged
  17. net — for catching
  18. club — for dancing
  19. board — a committee
  20. march — the month
  21. net — after costs
  22. bound — tied together
  23. net — in sport
  24. band — a ring

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