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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 116 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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rest — a break
  4. bass — the fish
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. ball — a great time
  8. drill — army training
  9. rest — what's left
  10. scale — in music
  11. march — the month
  12. rest — what's left
  13. drill — the tool
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. drill — a practice
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. march — the month
  21. bass — low music
  22. march — music
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. bass — the instrument

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