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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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. march — the month
  4. charge — a price
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. degree — from a university
  7. hand — help
  8. ball — a dance
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. charge — electricity
  11. bass — the fish
  12. hand — in cards
  13. degree — temperature
  14. march — the month
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. ball — a great time
  17. degree — an amount
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bass — low music
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. charge — in control

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