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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. prune — to trim
  3. club — for dancing
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. ball — a dance
  6. scale — size or range
  7. last — to go on
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. ball — a great time
  10. sharp — clever
  11. dip — to sink
  12. club — for golf
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. last — finally
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. club — a group
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. last — final
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. prune — to trim
  24. scale — in music

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