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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pound — a weight
  6. ball — a dance
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. game — a match
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. spring — of water
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. bass — low music
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. hand — in cards
  20. ball — a great time
  21. bass — the fish
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. game — wild animals

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