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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 116 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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. land — ground
  3. march — the month
  4. spring — the season
  5. wake — a trail
  6. march — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. scale — in music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. lie — to recline
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. bass — the fish
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. scale — size or range
  17. spring — a coil
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. spring — of water
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — low music
  24. land — a country

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