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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. prune — to trim
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — the animal
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. pop — soda
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. bulb — for light
  11. scale — size or range
  12. jam — a tight spot
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pop — music
  18. prune — to trim
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. dip — to sink
  24. pop — to visit

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