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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. rush — hurry
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — a group
  8. key — in music
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. key — for a lock
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. spring — of water
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. club — for golf
  20. key — the most important part
  21. perch — the fish
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. spring — the season

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