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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. capital — a city
  3. sharp — clever
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — the season
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rule — government
  11. scale — in music
  12. pit — in a race
  13. rule — a law
  14. scale — size or range
  15. spring — of water
  16. capital — money
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. pit — a hole
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bass — the fish
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. spring — a coil

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