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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.

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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: cold · pound · bass · march · swing · mouse · wind · pitcher

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  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. cold — an illness
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. swing — music
  4. swing — in golf
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. pound — a weight
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. wind — moving air
  14. march — music
  15. bass — low music
  16. wind — moving air
  17. march — the month
  18. swing — to play on
  19. cold — not warm
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. mouse — the animal
  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