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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. march — the month
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. club — a group
  5. march — music
  6. march — the month
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. season — in sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. season — of the year
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bass — low music
  15. degree — from a university
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. bass — the fish
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. band — a ring
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bark — to shout

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