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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. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. ball — a dance
  5. cap — of ice
  6. bass — low music
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. march — music
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. cap — a lid
  13. scale — size or range
  14. scale — in music
  15. root — of a plant
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. march — the month
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. root — of a word
  20. root — the cause
  21. kid — to tease
  22. cap — a hat
  23. kid — child
  24. wake — a trail

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