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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 120 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. tear — to rip
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. bulb — for light
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. ball — a dance
  11. bulb — for light
  12. march — the month
  13. perch — the fish
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. march — music
  17. degree — from a university
  18. bass — low music
  19. degree — temperature
  20. saw — the tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. perch — for a bird

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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