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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. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. bass — low music
  3. tube — a container
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. club — a group
  7. key — in music
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. key — the most important part
  10. tube — the underground
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. key — for a lock
  13. club — for dancing
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. march — music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. bark — to shout
  18. march — the month
  19. club — for golf
  20. march — the month
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. mine — for digging

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