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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bound — obliged
  3. march — music
  4. chest — a box
  5. object — to protest
  6. scale — in music
  7. bound — tied together
  8. scale — size or range
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bound — certain
  14. bass — low music
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bass — the fish
  17. chest — of your body
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. wound — an injury
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. nail — on a finger
  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