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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. ball — a dance
  3. march — the month
  4. track — a path
  5. last — final
  6. season — in sport
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. last — finally
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bass — the fish
  14. net — after costs
  15. last — to go on
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. season — of the year
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. track — a song
  22. ball — a great time
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitch — completely

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