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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. present — a gift
  3. lean — thin
  4. present — there
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bass — low music
  8. scale — size or range
  9. scale — in music
  10. cap — a lid
  11. lean — to bend
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. cap — a hat
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. kick — in football
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. present — the time now

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