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

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. lean — to bend
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. pound — a weight
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. march — the month
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. march — music
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. hand — help
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. lean — thin
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. bass — the fish

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