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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. rush — to hurry
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. march — the month
  4. rush — hurry
  5. board — to get on
  6. march — music
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spell — a short time
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. pit — in a race
  12. bass — low music
  13. spell — magic
  14. bass — the fish
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. pound — a weight
  21. board — a committee
  22. spell — letters
  23. march — the month
  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