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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.

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: bass · spell · march · race · pitcher · mate · hide · tear

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  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. pitcher — in baseball
  2. mate — a partner
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spell — letters
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. race — a contest
  8. march — music
  9. tear — from crying
  10. bass — low music
  11. race — humankind
  12. spell — magic
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. mate — a friend
  16. race — the arms race
  17. tear — from crying
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. tear — to rip
  22. mate — to breed
  23. march — the month
  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