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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. object — an aim
  3. club — a group
  4. object — a thing
  5. spring — the season
  6. bass — the fish
  7. object — to protest
  8. drill — the tool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — army training
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. saw — the tool
  15. spring — a coil
  16. cap — a hat
  17. club — for golf
  18. cap — of ice
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for dancing
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. bark — to shout
  23. spring — of water
  24. drill — a practice

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