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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. prune — to trim
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. capital — money
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. game — wild animals
  12. capital — a city
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. game — a match
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. prune — to trim
  20. date — the fruit
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. wake — a trail
  23. plane — a tool
  24. prune — the fruit

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