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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. ball — a dance
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. last — final
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bass — the fish
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. bass — low music
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. season — of the year
  16. game — a match
  17. season — in sport
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. last — finally
  20. pass — a permit
  21. cell — in biology
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. last — to go on
  24. pass — to spend time

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