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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. spring — of water
  3. squash — to crush
  4. squash — the sport
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. cell — a phone
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. swing — to play on
  13. cell — in biology
  14. dip — to sink
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. swing — in golf
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. bass — low music
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. spring — a coil

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