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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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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: swing · kid · last · rule · band · suit · march · present

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. last — to go on
  3. rule — a law
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. present — the time now
  8. last — finally
  9. present — there
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. kid — child
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. suit — clothes
  15. rule — government
  16. kid — to tease
  17. present — a gift
  18. last — final
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. suit — to fit
  21. swing — in golf
  22. band — a music group
  23. march — music
  24. suit — in cards

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