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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: date · bass · mine · pound · march · staff · squash · game

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  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. mine — belonging to me
  2. bass — the fish
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. squash — to crush
  5. date — the fruit
  6. march — music
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. game — a match
  9. squash — the sport
  10. staff — a stick
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. staff — employees
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. bass — low music
  19. mine — for digging
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — wild animals
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — an explosive
  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