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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 120 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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. suit — to fit
  6. prune — to trim
  7. spring — of water
  8. cold — an illness
  9. suit — clothes
  10. pound — a weight
  11. prune — to trim
  12. squash — the sport
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. spring — the season
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bass — the fish
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. spring — a coil
  20. squash — to crush
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. suit — in cards

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