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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: firm · land · foot · pop · bass · cell · band · march

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. land — ground
  3. band — a music group
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — the month
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. cell — a phone
  8. firm — steady
  9. land — a country
  10. bass — the fish
  11. cell — in biology
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. pop — soda
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. pop — music
  18. foot — a measure
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. firm — decided
  22. firm — a company
  23. bass — low music
  24. pop — to visit

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