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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — the season
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. stand — to bear
  8. net — for catching
  9. march — the month
  10. march — the month
  11. net — after costs
  12. march — music
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. rash — a series
  17. bass — the fish
  18. drill — the tool
  19. drill — army training
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. row — a line
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rash — hasty

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