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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. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. pound — a weight
  3. scale — in music
  4. bound — obliged
  5. march — music
  6. bound — certain
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — the fish
  9. wound — an injury
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. file — a tool
  12. bound — tied together
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. file — a line of people
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. scale — size or range
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — the month
  20. wound — an injury
  21. bass — low music
  22. date — the fruit
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. file — a document

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