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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bass — low music
  3. file — a document
  4. season — in sport
  5. shower — to wash
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. band — a music group
  9. kick — in football
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. bass — the fish
  17. file — a tool
  18. shower — rain
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. dip — to sink
  21. rock — a stone
  22. file — a line of people
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. band — a ring

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