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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.

Make a worksheet

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: wind · spell · mate · tear · object · march · court · bass

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  9. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a friend
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. tear — from crying
  7. court — of law
  8. object — an aim
  9. object — to protest
  10. spell — a short time
  11. tear — to rip
  12. mate — a partner
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — moving air
  15. march — the month
  16. spell — letters
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mate — to breed
  19. court — for sport
  20. march — music
  21. tear — from crying
  22. object — a thing
  23. spell — magic
  24. court — of a king

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