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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: ground · wake · bass · march · fan · spell · track · roll

  1. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — a trail
  2. spell — letters
  3. track — a song
  4. ground — the earth
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. track — a path
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. bass — the fish
  10. roll — a cake
  11. track — to keep track
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. bass — low music
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — magic
  18. spell — a short time
  19. march — the month
  20. march — music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a list

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