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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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. chair — a leader
  5. bass — low music
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. roll — a cake
  10. ball — a great time
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cap — a lid
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. last — to go on
  15. roll — a list
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. last — final
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — of ice
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. last — finally
  24. ball — a dance

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