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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 120 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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fork · shower · bass · field · march · band · bear · squash

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. squash — to crush
  4. march — the month
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. bear — the animal
  7. field — a subject
  8. bear — the animal
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. band — a ring
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. march — the month
  14. squash — the sport
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. march — music
  17. shower — rain
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. band — a music group
  21. field — farmland
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bass — low music
  24. fork — in a road

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