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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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bass — low music
  7. spell — letters
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pop — soda
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. spell — magic
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bat — the animal
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bulb — for light
  20. pop — to visit
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. degree — from a university

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