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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. bass — the fish
  6. mark — a trace
  7. sharp — clever
  8. pitch — completely
  9. bass — low music
  10. pop — music
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. mark — a grade
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lie — to recline
  15. scale — size or range
  16. pop — soda
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. file — a document
  19. pop — to visit
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. scale — in music
  22. file — a tool
  23. file — a line of people
  24. scale — for weighing

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