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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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rash — a series
  4. rash — hasty
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mug — a cup
  9. bass — low music
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cold — an illness
  13. mug — to rob
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. mug — a face
  17. scale — in music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bass — the fish
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. nail — on a finger

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