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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 116 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. rock — music
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. drill — army training
  5. band — a ring
  6. court — for sport
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. scale — in music
  9. court — of a king
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. bear — the animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. drill — the tool
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. band — a music group
  17. rock — a stone
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. row — to paddle
  20. drill — a practice
  21. scale — size or range
  22. court — of law
  23. bear — the animal
  24. row — a line

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