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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bass — the fish
  4. march — the month
  5. track — to keep track
  6. row — a line
  7. game — a match
  8. bass — low music
  9. fall — to drop
  10. track — a path
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fall — the season
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. fall — to drop

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