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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rash — a series
  3. scale — size or range
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. band — a music group
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rash — hasty
  11. drill — army training
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. band — a ring
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. drill — the tool
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. season — in sport
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. drill — a practice
  24. march — music

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