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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. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  13. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. net — in sport
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kid — to tease
  5. toast — bread
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. bound — tied together
  8. staff — a stick
  9. scale — in music
  10. bound — obliged
  11. scale — size or range
  12. toast — a drink to someone
  13. jam — a tight spot
  14. bass — low music
  15. staff — employees
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. staff — employees
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. kid — child
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. bound — certain
  24. net — after costs

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