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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. scale — in music
  3. dip — to sink
  4. bass — the fish
  5. spell — magic
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. march — the month
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. march — the month
  11. spell — letters
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spell — a short time
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bass — low music
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. spring — the season
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. chair — a leader
  24. march — music

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