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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bound — certain
  5. drill — army training
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. ground — crushed
  8. pit — a hole
  9. shower — rain
  10. bass — low music
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — an injury
  13. staff — employees
  14. bound — tied together
  15. bound — obliged
  16. ground — a position
  17. drill — the tool
  18. staff — a stick
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. pit — in a race
  21. wound — an injury
  22. drill — a practice
  23. shower — to wash
  24. staff — employees

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