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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: band · stick · chest · coach · kick · rule · object · season

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. season — in sport
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. object — to protest
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. chest — of your body
  13. band — a music group
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. rule — a law
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. chest — of your body
  19. season — of the year
  20. object — an aim
  21. chest — a box
  22. object — a thing
  23. rule — government
  24. kick — in football

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