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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: band · rock · pitcher · cold · march · fan · game · last

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. march — the month
  3. rock — a stone
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. last — finally
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. last — to go on
  8. march — music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. band — a ring
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. rock — music
  16. cold — an illness
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. last — final
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — a supporter

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