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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Have you found your soul ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. swing — to play on
  4. pound — a weight
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. march — the month
  7. march — music
  8. cold — not warm
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — in golf
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bass — low music
  14. safe — a strongbox
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mate — a partner
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. march — the month
  20. mate — a friend
  21. bark — to shout
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mate — to breed
  24. cold — an illness

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