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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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. firm — a company
  3. march — the month
  4. bass — the fish
  5. tear — from crying
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — to trim
  8. land — a country
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. land — ground
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — low music
  15. object — an aim
  16. march — music
  17. firm — decided
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. object — a thing
  21. march — the month
  22. object — to protest
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. swing — in golf

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