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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: land · hand · pit · bass · board · mark · march · shower

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. shower — to wash
  6. land — ground
  7. hand — in cards
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. board — to get on
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. board — a committee
  13. pit — a hole
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bass — low music
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pit — in a race
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. hand — help
  20. mark — a trace
  21. march — the month
  22. land — to come down
  23. march — music
  24. land — a country

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