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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 116 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. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kid — child
  4. bass — low music
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. rush — hurry
  7. season — of the year
  8. scale — size or range
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. drill — army training
  11. season — in sport
  12. drill — a practice
  13. kid — to tease
  14. drill — the tool
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. scale — in music
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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