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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mine — for digging
  4. face — to point toward
  5. bark — to shout
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. prune — to trim
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. dip — to sink
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. prune — to trim
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. face — to confront
  20. bass — low music
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. lean — thin

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