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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bass — the fish
  5. rest — what's left
  6. staff — a stick
  7. march — music
  8. rest — a break
  9. file — a tool
  10. mark — a grade
  11. mark — a trace
  12. staff — employees
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. staff — employees
  16. rest — what's left
  17. march — the month
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. file — a document
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. march — the month

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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