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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. march — the month
  5. saw — the tool
  6. march — the month
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. saw — the tool
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. march — music
  12. bark — to shout
  13. craft — boats
  14. bank — of a river
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bank — for money
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. degree — from a university
  19. craft — a skill
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bank — for money
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. degree — temperature

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