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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. foot — a measure
  5. prune — to trim
  6. fine — a penalty
  7. fine — all right
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. prune — to trim
  10. date — the fruit
  11. band — a music group
  12. band — a ring
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spell — letters
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. scale — in music
  18. fine — high quality
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. spell — magic
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bass — the fish
  24. scale — for weighing

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