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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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. pop — to visit
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — low music
  7. pop — soda
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. pop — music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. game — a match
  12. march — the month
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. game — wild animals
  16. march — the month
  17. fall — to drop
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. fall — the season
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. firm — decided
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. perch — the fish
  24. march — music

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