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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bowl · snap · kid · march · rest · ground · bear · bass

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. ground — crushed
  3. march — the month
  4. rest — what's left
  5. bear — the animal
  6. ground — a position
  7. snap — to click
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. kid — child
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kid — to tease
  17. march — music
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. bass — low music
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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