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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We're on a ________________ here.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. present — the time now
  4. capital — money
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. kid — to tease
  8. present — a gift
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. plane — a tool
  11. kid — child
  12. rock — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. roll — a cake
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. rock — a stone
  18. date — the fruit
  19. roll — on a roll
  20. bass — low music
  21. capital — a city
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. roll — a list
  24. present — there

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