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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. prune — to trim
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. march — music
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bass — low music
  9. prune — to trim
  10. kid — to tease
  11. march — the month
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. kid — child
  15. hand — help
  16. cap — a lid
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. dip — to sink
  20. march — the month
  21. cap — a hat
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. cap — of ice
  24. ball — a great time

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