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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 116 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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a music group
  3. wake — a trail
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. band — a ring
  6. dip — to sink
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. prune — to trim
  9. land — a country
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. bass — low music
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. drill — the tool
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. dip — to dunk
  16. land — to come down
  17. squash — to crush
  18. drill — army training
  19. land — ground
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — the fish
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. drill — a practice

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