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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. mark — a grade
  3. deal — to handle
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. rock — a stone
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. spring — of water
  9. file — a document
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. spring — the season
  12. bass — the fish
  13. file — a line of people
  14. mark — a trace
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. rock — music
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. file — a tool
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bark — to shout

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