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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.

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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: race · board · rock · wound · pound · swing · bass · present

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. rock — music
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. race — a contest
  7. board — a committee
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. swing — to play on
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. wound — an injury
  15. present — the time now
  16. bass — the fish
  17. board — to get on
  18. rock — a stone
  19. swing — in golf
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. swing — music
  23. present — a gift
  24. present — there

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