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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. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. scale — size or range
  4. race — a contest
  5. tube — a container
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. race — humankind
  8. band — a music group
  9. tube — the underground
  10. prune — to trim
  11. sharp — clever
  12. bass — the fish
  13. prune — to trim
  14. scale — in music
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. bass — low music
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a ring
  22. race — the arms race
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. sharp — exactly

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