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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: march · bass · board · ruler · field · band · saw · sharp

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. band — a ring
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. board — a committee
  6. march — music
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. march — the month
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. march — the month
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. sharp — clever
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. field — farmland
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. board — to get on
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. band — a music group

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