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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — a trace
  3. net — in sport
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. mark — a grade
  10. march — the month
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. march — the month
  13. net — for catching
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spring — the season
  19. deal — to handle
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. net — after costs
  23. march — music
  24. plane — a tool

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