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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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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: temple · coach · march · bass · shower · prune · firm · ball

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. firm — a company
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. firm — decided
  6. prune — to trim
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. shower — to wash
  9. prune — to trim
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. ball — a dance
  13. firm — steady
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. march — the month
  18. shower — rain
  19. bass — the fish
  20. march — the month
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. ball — a great time
  24. march — music

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