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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: content · march · racket · bass · tear · roll · shower · club

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. march — music
  4. bass — low music
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. club — for dancing
  7. roll — a list
  8. club — a group
  9. bass — the fish
  10. club — for golf
  11. march — the month
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. tear — to rip
  16. tear — from crying
  17. content — the amount
  18. roll — a cake
  19. content — happy
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. shower — to wash
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. shower — rain
  24. march — the month

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