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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. bass — the fish
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — the month
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. band — a music group
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. chip — for betting
  13. sharp — clever
  14. chip — to eat
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. bass — low music
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. bass — the instrument

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