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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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. court — of law
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. plane — in geometry
  6. fork — in a road
  7. court — for sport
  8. kid — child
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pitch — completely
  11. court — of a king
  12. plane — a tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. kid — to tease
  16. track — a song
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. track — to keep track
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. track — a path
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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