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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. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. chip — to eat
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bass — low music
  8. roll — a cake
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — an illness
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. mark — a grade
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mark — a trace
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. date — on the calendar

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