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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. land — ground
  3. object — to protest
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. march — music
  6. current — of water
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. shower — to wash
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. bass — the fish
  11. land — a country
  12. rock — a stone
  13. march — the month
  14. object — an aim
  15. current — electric
  16. object — a thing
  17. shower — rain
  18. land — to come down
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. march — the month
  22. bass — low music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. current — happening now

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