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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. rock — music
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. last — final
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. track — a path
  9. bass — the fish
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — a contest
  12. track — to keep track
  13. last — finally
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. last — to go on
  17. bass — low music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. kick — in football
  20. rock — a stone
  21. race — humankind
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pound — a weight
  24. date — on the calendar

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