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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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. key — the most important part
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. branch — a division
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. court — of a king
  7. chair — a leader
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. court — of law
  10. key — for a lock
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. saw — the tool
  13. date — the fruit
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. rash — hasty
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. key — in music
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — the tool
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. court — for sport

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