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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bass — low music
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. mate — a friend
  9. bark — to shout
  10. bat — the animal
  11. bass — the fish
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. squash — the sport
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — size or range
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. bat — for baseball

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