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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bass — low music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. march — music
  8. key — the most important part
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. march — the month
  12. rash — a series
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. key — for a lock
  15. race — a contest
  16. rash — hasty
  17. key — in music
  18. race — humankind
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. ball — a dance
  24. race — the arms race

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