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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. kid — child
  4. bass — the fish
  5. date — the fruit
  6. squash — to crush
  7. kid — to tease
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. squash — the sport
  14. march — the month
  15. ball — a great time
  16. march — the month
  17. bass — low music
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. march — music
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. ball — a dance
  23. staff — a stick
  24. staff — employees

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