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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — humankind
  7. bass — low music
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. drill — a practice
  11. race — a contest
  12. club — for dancing
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a match
  15. bass — the fish
  16. club — a group
  17. march — music
  18. club — for golf
  19. march — the month
  20. wind — moving air
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wind — moving air
  24. drill — the tool

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