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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: wound · pitcher · prune · hide · mine · sharp · march · bass

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — the month
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. sharp — clever
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. prune — to trim
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. wound — an injury
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bass — low music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. march — music
  24. hide — to keep secret

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