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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. spring — the season
  8. shower — to wash
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. rest — a break
  11. spring — of water
  12. ball — a great time
  13. shower — rain
  14. rest — what's left
  15. march — music
  16. bore — to drill
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. bass — the fish
  21. bore — to tire
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. branch — a division
  24. spring — a coil

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