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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 need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. squash — to crush
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. drill — army training
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. march — music
  10. wake — a trail
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bass — low music
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pop — to visit
  18. squash — the sport
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. pop — music
  21. pop — soda
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. bound — tied together
  24. bound — certain

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