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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. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — in a road
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cue — a hint
  6. cell — a phone
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. cue — a signal
  9. cell — in biology
  10. cue — for pool
  11. mug — a face
  12. bass — low music
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mug — a cup
  15. wake — a trail
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. stock — goods
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. stock — shares

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