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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. pop — music
  3. firm — steady
  4. pop — to visit
  5. march — the month
  6. chest — a box
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — the month
  9. field — a subject
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — for sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. firm — decided
  14. field — farmland
  15. board — to get on
  16. bass — low music
  17. chest — of your body
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. staff — employees
  21. firm — a company
  22. pop — soda
  23. chest — of your body
  24. march — music

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