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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bass — the fish
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. track — a song
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. mark — a grade
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wound — an injury
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bass — low music
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. season — of the year
  21. mark — a trace
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. season — in sport
  24. squash — to crush

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