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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · pop · march · rock · band · field · rule · straw

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. march — music
  3. pop — to visit
  4. march — the month
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. cap — of ice
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. march — the month
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rock — a stone
  14. cap — a hat
  15. pop — music
  16. rule — a law
  17. pop — soda
  18. band — a music group
  19. rule — government
  20. field — for sport
  21. band — a ring
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. cap — a lid
  24. field — farmland

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