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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. saw — the tool
  3. saw — the tool
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. race — humankind
  7. last — finally
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — the fish
  11. sharp — clever
  12. last — final
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. march — the month
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pitch — completely
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. last — to go on
  19. march — the month
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. race — a contest
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. march — music
  24. sharp — with an edge

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