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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. drill — a practice
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. wake — a trail
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bass — low music
  8. craft — a skill
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. ball — a great time
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. craft — boats
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. drill — army training
  21. drill — the tool
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pound — a weight
  24. craft — a handicraft

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