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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: pound · racket · club · sharp · last · march · chest · bass

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. bass — the fish
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. march — the month
  7. chest — a box
  8. march — the month
  9. pound — a weight
  10. bass — low music
  11. club — for golf
  12. march — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — to go on
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. chest — of your body
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. club — for dancing
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. club — a group
  22. last — final
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. last — finally

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