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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. land — ground
  3. mate — a friend
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mate — to breed
  6. swing — music
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bass — the fish
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. swing — to play on
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. race — a contest
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. race — humankind
  18. race — the arms race
  19. land — to come down
  20. mate — a partner
  21. branch — a division
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. swing — in golf
  24. land — a country

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