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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.

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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: hand · racket · club · march · fall · mine · bass · current

  1. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. current — of water
  6. club — a group
  7. current — happening now
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. mine — for digging
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. bass — low music
  13. club — for golf
  14. fall — to drop
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. current — electric
  17. bass — the fish
  18. club — for dancing
  19. fall — the season
  20. hand — help
  21. hand — in cards
  22. march — music
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. march — the month

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