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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 120 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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — low music
  4. rest — what's left
  5. ball — a great time
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bass — the fish
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. rest — a break
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. cap — a hat
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cap — of ice
  21. pit — a hole
  22. rest — what's left
  23. cap — a lid
  24. coach — a trainer

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