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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 116 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 had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. stand — to bear
  3. season — of the year
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bass — low music
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. ball — a great time
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ball — a dance
  15. season — in sport
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bass — the fish
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — of water
  20. clip — a video
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. clip — to cut
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spring — the season

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