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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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the fish
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — size or range
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. band — a music group
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. file — a document
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. file — a line of people
  21. row — to paddle
  22. file — a tool
  23. band — a ring
  24. scale — in music

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