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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. march — music
  4. rush — hurry
  5. prune — to trim
  6. roll — a list
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — the month
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. season — of the year
  11. march — the month
  12. prune — to trim
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. season — in sport
  16. bass — low music
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. roll — a cake
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. season — to add flavour

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