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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 120 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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bass — low music
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bass — the fish
  5. ground — crushed
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — music
  9. wound — an injury
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. march — the month
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. ground — a position
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ground — the earth

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