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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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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: bear · squash · ground · march · spell · bass · chest · current

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. ground — a position
  3. chest — of your body
  4. spell — letters
  5. squash — the sport
  6. spell — magic
  7. current — of water
  8. ground — crushed
  9. current — electric
  10. bass — the fish
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. bear — the animal
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — low music
  17. march — the month
  18. squash — to crush
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. chest — a box
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bear — the animal
  23. current — happening now
  24. spell — a short time

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