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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: ball · date · pit · bass · perch · last · cell · bear

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. last — finally
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. pit — in a race
  5. date — the fruit
  6. pit — a hole
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. bass — the fish
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. bass — low music
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cell — in biology
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. last — final
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. ball — a great time
  20. last — to go on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. bear — the animal
  23. perch — the fish
  24. ball — a dance

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