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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. mine — for digging
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. bass — low music
  8. march — the month
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. shower — rain
  12. deal — to handle
  13. bass — the fish
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. shower — to wash
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pound — a weight
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. march — the month
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. dip — to sink
  24. pound — for dogs

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