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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. roll — a list
  7. roll — a cake
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. wound — an injury
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. band — a ring
  17. bass — the fish
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. bass — low music
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a music group
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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