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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 116 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: spring · drill · court · bass · bear · wave · rock · march

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. spring — the season
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bass — the fish
  8. court — for sport
  9. bass — low music
  10. drill — the tool
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. march — music
  13. march — the month
  14. court — of a king
  15. spring — of water
  16. drill — army training
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bear — the animal
  20. court — of law
  21. bear — the animal
  22. drill — a practice
  23. march — the month
  24. wave — with your hand

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