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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bass · fan · scale · racket · mine · bowl · fall · prune

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. scale — size or range
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fall — the season
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mine — for digging
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bass — the fish
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. scale — in music
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mine — an explosive

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