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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. last — to go on
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — low music
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. march — the month
  10. season — in sport
  11. last — finally
  12. march — the month
  13. season — of the year
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. march — music
  20. last — final
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bark — to shout
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bowl — a football final

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