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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. band — a music group
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. last — finally
  8. file — a tool
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. track — a path
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. last — to go on
  13. last — final
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. track — a song
  16. band — a ring
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a document
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. fan — to cool the air

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