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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: fine · rule · scale · bass · swing · pop · cold · prune

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. rule — to rule out
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. bass — low music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. cold — an illness
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bass — the fish
  15. rule — a law
  16. scale — size or range
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — music
  20. fine — all right
  21. fine — high quality
  22. scale — in music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. scale — for weighing

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