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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. club — a group
  3. rock — music
  4. ground — the earth
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — an injury
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — music
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. club — for golf
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — the month
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. club — for dancing
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mouse — the animal

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