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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bass — low music
  4. cap — a lid
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chip — for betting
  8. cap — of ice
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bass — the fish
  11. date — the fruit
  12. cap — a hat
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. chip — to eat
  18. rest — what's left
  19. wound — an injury
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. perch — for a bird

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