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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 116 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. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. fine — high quality
  3. game — a match
  4. bass — low music
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. march — music
  8. bulb — for light
  9. row — to paddle
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rest — a break
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. bark — to shout
  14. bulb — for light
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — what's left
  19. row — a line
  20. march — the month
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bark — of a tree

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