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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: ball · chest · bass · march · rock · ground · bark · nail

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. bass — low music
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bark — to shout
  5. ball — a dance
  6. march — music
  7. ball — a great time
  8. march — the month
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. march — the month
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. ground — a position
  18. chest — of your body
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — music
  24. nail — on a finger

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