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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. track — a path
  5. pop — soda
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. kid — child
  8. tear — to rip
  9. track — a song
  10. tear — from crying
  11. band — a music group
  12. march — music
  13. band — a ring
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. bass — low music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. march — the month
  20. pop — music
  21. march — the month
  22. track — to keep track
  23. pop — to visit
  24. tear — from crying

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