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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. rock — music
  3. present — a gift
  4. date — the fruit
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bass — low music
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. present — there
  10. wound — an injury
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. present — the time now
  16. band — a music group
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rock — a stone

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