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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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 rubber band
  3. stem — to come from
  4. band — a ring
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. march — the month
  8. court — of a king
  9. key — the most important part
  10. kick — in football
  11. key — in music
  12. court — for sport
  13. key — for a lock
  14. court — of law
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — in music
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — music
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stem — of a plant

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