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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rest — a break
  3. last — to go on
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — what's left
  14. drill — a practice
  15. march — music
  16. last — final
  17. drill — the tool
  18. march — the month
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. last — finally
  21. drill — army training
  22. bass — low music
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. fork — in a road

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