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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. capital — money
  3. shower — to wash
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bear — the animal
  6. march — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cell — a phone
  9. shower — rain
  10. roll — a cake
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — low music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. roll — a list
  17. cell — in biology
  18. capital — a city
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. march — the month
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. nail — for a hammer

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