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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — music
  3. lie — to recline
  4. wound — an injury
  5. march — the month
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a music group
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. squash — the sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — the animal
  12. club — for golf
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. club — for dancing
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bear — the animal
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — the month
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. leaves — lets stay

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