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

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. court — for sport
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. present — there
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. bass — the fish
  10. present — a gift
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. bat — the animal
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. court — of law
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. court — of a king
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. present — the time now

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