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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cap — a hat
  3. march — music
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — a coil
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. cap — a lid
  12. spring — of water
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. scale — size or range
  16. bass — low music
  17. spring — the season
  18. scale — in music
  19. toast — bread
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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