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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. wound — an injury
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. current — of water
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. band — a ring
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. wound — an injury
  12. current — happening now
  13. bass — the fish
  14. band — a music group
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. current — electric
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. mine — for digging
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. date — the fruit

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