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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. scale — in music
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. file — a line of people
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. row — to paddle
  8. row — a line
  9. root — of a plant
  10. root — of a word
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — a lid
  13. scale — size or range
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. root — the cause
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a document
  18. cap — of ice
  19. court — for sport
  20. toast — bread
  21. cap — a hat
  22. court — of law
  23. bass — the fish
  24. court — of a king

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