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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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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: lean · march · hand · mine · land · bass · bear · club

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. march — the month
  3. bear — the animal
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mine — for digging
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — ground
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. lean — thin
  13. club — for golf
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. land — a country
  17. bear — the animal
  18. march — the month
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. land — to come down
  21. lean — to bend
  22. hand — help
  23. bass — low music
  24. club — a group

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