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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. prune — to trim
  4. scale — in music
  5. squash — to crush
  6. net — after costs
  7. prune — to trim
  8. scale — size or range
  9. bass — low music
  10. band — a ring
  11. band — a music group
  12. net — in sport
  13. bass — the fish
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. foot — a measure
  20. cell — a phone
  21. net — for catching
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. cell — in biology

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