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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 116 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. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bass — the fish
  4. rock — music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mark — a trace
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a line of people
  11. fall — the season
  12. file — a document
  13. file — a tool
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. fall — to drop
  16. scale — in music
  17. fall — to drop
  18. cell — a phone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. scale — size or range
  22. game — a match
  23. bass — low music
  24. rock — a stone

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