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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. march — the month
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. land — a country
  9. chair — a leader
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. drill — the tool
  12. drill — army training
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. march — the month
  15. can — a tin
  16. can — to be able to
  17. snap — to click
  18. can — a tin
  19. march — music
  20. rush — hurry
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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