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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. date — the fruit
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. fork — in a road
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. band — a music group
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — in music
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. sharp — clever
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. date — on the calendar

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