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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. track — to keep track
  3. bass — the fish
  4. track — a song
  5. track — a path
  6. march — the month
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bass — low music
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. saw — the tool
  12. wind — moving air
  13. saw — the tool
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. march — the month
  16. cell — in biology
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. wind — moving air
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. season — of the year
  21. march — music
  22. bat — the animal
  23. season — in sport
  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