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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. chair — a leader
  5. cold — an illness
  6. ground — a position
  7. sharp — clever
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. net — after costs
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. bass — low music
  17. net — in sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — for catching
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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