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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. net — after costs
  3. bass — low music
  4. prune — to trim
  5. bay — to keep at bay
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. degree — from a university
  8. cell — in biology
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. race — humankind
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. net — for catching
  13. bay — a part of the sea
  14. pop — to visit
  15. race — a contest
  16. bass — the fish
  17. net — in sport
  18. pop — soda
  19. degree — an amount
  20. cell — a phone
  21. prune — to trim
  22. degree — temperature
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. race — the arms 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