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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the fish
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. cap — of ice
  9. cap — a hat
  10. snap — to click
  11. mine — for digging
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. drill — army training
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. drill — a practice
  22. mate — a friend
  23. pitch — completely
  24. drill — the tool

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