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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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — of water
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. pit — in a race
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. spring — a coil
  11. chair — a leader
  12. march — the month
  13. march — the month
  14. row — a line
  15. row — to paddle
  16. roll — a list
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bass — low music
  19. march — music
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. roll — a cake
  23. pit — a hole
  24. roll — on a roll

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