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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — low music
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mate — a friend
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mate — a partner
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rash — hasty
  12. march — the month
  13. rash — a series
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. mine — for digging
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bass — the fish
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. march — music
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. ball — a dance
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. date — the fruit

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