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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. tube — a container
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bat — the animal
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. can — a tin
  12. bass — low music
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. tube — the underground
  15. date — the fruit
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. key — the most important part
  18. can — to be able to
  19. scale — in music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. key — for a lock
  22. tear — from crying
  23. can — a tin
  24. tear — from crying

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