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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. pit — in a race
  3. pit — a hole
  4. present — a gift
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. clip — a video
  7. rash — hasty
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. clip — to cut
  10. mark — a trace
  11. present — there
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — low music
  14. rock — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — a series
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. present — the time now
  21. rock — a stone
  22. spring — a coil
  23. spring — the season
  24. mark — a grade

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