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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. chest — of your body
  4. march — the month
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. march — the month
  8. firm — a company
  9. land — to come down
  10. firm — steady
  11. squash — to crush
  12. land — ground
  13. bass — low music
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. chest — of your body
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. land — a country
  22. firm — decided
  23. march — music
  24. chest — a box

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