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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. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bass — low music
  3. land — to come down
  4. bear — the animal
  5. file — a tool
  6. file — a document
  7. bank — for money
  8. file — a line of people
  9. march — the month
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spring — of water
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. bank — of a river
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — the season
  18. land — a country
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bass — the fish
  23. bank — for money
  24. land — ground

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