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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. file — a tool
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. present — a gift
  6. file — a document
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bass — low music
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — the fish
  11. object — to protest
  12. file — a line of people
  13. foot — a measure
  14. prune — to trim
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. present — the time now
  17. present — there
  18. object — an aim
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. net — after costs
  22. object — a thing
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. wound — an injury

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