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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. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spring — a coil
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — of water
  7. bass — the fish
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. spring — the season
  11. squash — to crush
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. march — the month
  16. mark — a trace
  17. pop — to visit
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — the month
  20. squash — the sport
  21. file — a line of people
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. file — a tool

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