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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. toast — a drink to someone
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. saw — the tool
  9. stock — goods
  10. cell — a phone
  11. toast — bread
  12. stock — shares
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. cell — in biology
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. bore — to tire

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