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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. When are we going to ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. land — to come down
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. land — ground
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. season — in sport
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cold — not warm
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. cold — an illness
  21. season — of the year
  22. land — a country
  23. safe — a strongbox
  24. bass — the fish

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