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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. object — to protest
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. spring — the season
  5. cue — a signal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bass — the fish
  8. object — a thing
  9. band — a ring
  10. clip — for paper
  11. clip — a video
  12. march — the month
  13. clip — to cut
  14. march — the month
  15. band — a music group
  16. date — the fruit
  17. object — an aim
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. march — music
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cue — a hint
  22. spring — a coil
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. spring — of water

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