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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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. last — to go on
  3. bass — low music
  4. march — the month
  5. club — for dancing
  6. file — a document
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bass — the fish
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. last — finally
  11. bound — certain
  12. last — final
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. spring — of water
  16. club — for golf
  17. spring — the season
  18. bound — tied together
  19. file — a tool
  20. club — a group
  21. file — a line of people
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bound — obliged

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