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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. can — to be able to
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. scale — in music
  5. roll — a list
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. file — a line of people
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. can — a tin
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — for sport
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. file — a tool
  16. can — a tin
  17. bass — low music
  18. field — a subject
  19. bass — the fish
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. file — a document
  22. roll — a cake
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. field — farmland

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