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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. march — music
  5. march — the month
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stand — to bear
  9. vault — a safe
  10. cue — for pool
  11. tear — to rip
  12. bass — low music
  13. march — the month
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. cue — a hint
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — from crying
  20. cue — a signal
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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