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

Word bank: club · bay · fall · hand · bass · prune · key · chair

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. club — a group
  4. bass — the fish
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bass — low music
  8. fall — the season
  9. chair — a leader
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. hand — help
  14. club — for dancing
  15. prune — to trim
  16. key — for a lock
  17. fall — to drop
  18. club — for golf
  19. key — in music
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bay — to keep at bay
  22. key — the most important part
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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