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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. current — happening now
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. rock — music
  5. wake — a trail
  6. current — electric
  7. press — a publisher
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. rock — a stone
  10. march — the month
  11. press — newspapers
  12. tear — from crying
  13. bass — the fish
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. tear — to rip
  17. press — to push
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. file — a tool
  20. file — a document
  21. current — of water
  22. bass — low music
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. file — a line of people

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