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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. key — for a lock
  4. craft — boats
  5. bass — the fish
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — not warm
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — the month
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. march — the month
  15. scale — in music
  16. key — in music
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wake — a trail
  19. march — music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. craft — a skill
  23. key — the most important part
  24. bass — low music

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