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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 120 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. face — to point toward
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. bass — low music
  6. face — part of the head
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. club — a group
  13. root — the cause
  14. scale — size or range
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — of a word
  18. bulb — for light
  19. face — to confront
  20. club — for golf
  21. stock — shares
  22. bulb — for light
  23. stock — goods
  24. scale — in music

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