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

Word bank: march · band · chair · fine · rule · cell · present · shower

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. rule — government
  3. present — the time now
  4. cell — a phone
  5. rule — a law
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. fine — high quality
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. march — the month
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. band — a music group
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. shower — rain
  16. present — a gift
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. cell — in biology
  19. fine — all right
  20. band — a ring
  21. march — music
  22. shower — to wash
  23. present — there
  24. march — the month

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