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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. present — a gift
  5. bass — the fish
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. bass — low music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. tube — the underground
  10. court — of a king
  11. court — of law
  12. squash — the sport
  13. court — for sport
  14. tube — a container
  15. squash — to crush
  16. ground — a position
  17. present — there
  18. present — the time now
  19. ground — the earth
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. prune — to trim
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. fan — a supporter

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