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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mate — to breed
  3. cell — in biology
  4. stock — shares
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. mate — a partner
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bass — low music
  9. cell — a phone
  10. last — final
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. last — to go on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. drill — a practice
  15. mate — a friend
  16. bass — the fish
  17. drill — the tool
  18. stock — goods
  19. bat — the animal
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. drill — army training
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. last — finally

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