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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. march — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pound — a weight
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — low music
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. craft — boats
  10. march — the month
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. capital — a city
  13. bound — tied together
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. fork — in a road
  16. march — the month
  17. bound — certain
  18. bass — the fish
  19. capital — money
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. craft — a skill
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. bound — obliged

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