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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. rule — a law
  4. ground — the earth
  5. spell — letters
  6. bass — the fish
  7. ground — a position
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ground — crushed
  11. scale — in music
  12. rule — government
  13. spell — a short time
  14. stock — goods
  15. game — wild animals
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. stock — shares
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. game — a match
  20. pit — a hole
  21. spell — magic
  22. pit — in a race
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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