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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. rock — music
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. rock — a stone
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — low music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. bat — the animal
  12. rest — what's left
  13. march — the month
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. rest — what's left
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. march — music
  20. net — after costs
  21. march — the month
  22. rest — a break
  23. file — a document
  24. net — for catching

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