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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. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. bass — the fish
  3. march — music
  4. drill — the tool
  5. track — to keep track
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. prune — to trim
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bass — low music
  11. drill — a practice
  12. march — the month
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. march — the month
  15. track — a song
  16. mouse — for a computer
  17. prune — to trim
  18. swing — in golf
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. swing — music
  21. rule — a law
  22. drill — army training
  23. track — a path
  24. rule — to rule out

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