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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bass — low music
  3. firm — steady
  4. firm — decided
  5. kid — to tease
  6. firm — a company
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — the month
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. march — music
  13. wake — a trail
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. spell — a short time
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. spell — magic
  20. spell — letters
  21. bass — the fish
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — money

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