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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. object — to protest
  7. wind — moving air
  8. dip — to sink
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — music
  14. roll — a cake
  15. file — a tool
  16. object — a thing
  17. object — an aim
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bass — the fish
  21. roll — a list
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. dip — a sauce

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