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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. row — a line
  4. squash — to crush
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. band — a music group
  7. squash — the sport
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. pit — a hole
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. band — a ring
  14. drill — army training
  15. drill — a practice
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. drill — the tool
  18. row — to paddle
  19. snap — to click
  20. bulb — for light
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — size or range
  24. pit — in a race

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