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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. march — music
  3. cue — a signal
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — low music
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. cue — a hint
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — to shout
  12. march — the month
  13. wind — moving air
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. row — to paddle
  16. pop — to visit
  17. file — a document
  18. pop — soda
  19. cue — for pool
  20. pop — music
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a line
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wind — moving air

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