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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 116 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. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. file — a tool
  3. band — a ring
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a music group
  6. suit — clothes
  7. march — music
  8. suit — in cards
  9. land — a country
  10. pound — a weight
  11. suit — to fit
  12. land — to come down
  13. bass — the fish
  14. file — a document
  15. row — a line
  16. land — ground
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. row — to paddle
  19. march — the month
  20. file — a line of people
  21. bass — low music
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. bass — the instrument

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