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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. saw — the tool
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. toast — a drink to someone
  8. toast — bread
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. game — a match
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — farmland
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. saw — the tool
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. game — wild animals
  20. field — for sport
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitch — completely
  24. bass — low music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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