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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: rock · band · rule · cap · rash · craft · chair · fork

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. band — a music group
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. craft — a skill
  7. chair — a leader
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. rock — a stone
  10. cap — a lid
  11. cap — a hat
  12. rule — a law
  13. band — a ring
  14. rule — government
  15. rash — a series
  16. cap — of ice
  17. rash — hasty
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. craft — boats
  22. fork — in a road
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. fork — a garden tool

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