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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. toast — bread
  4. shower — to wash
  5. club — for dancing
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. march — the month
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. shower — rain
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of a king
  14. march — music
  15. club — a group
  16. march — the month
  17. cold — an illness
  18. court — for sport
  19. club — for golf
  20. band — a ring
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. court — of law
  24. hide — animal skin

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