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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 120 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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a match
  3. ball — a great time
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. pass — a permit
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. game — wild animals
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. mine — for digging
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. pitch — completely
  19. ball — a dance
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. last — to go on
  23. last — finally
  24. rush — to hurry

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