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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. pit — a hole
  7. season — of the year
  8. row — to paddle
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. bat — the animal
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. file — a document
  15. lean — to bend
  16. season — in sport
  17. ball — a great time
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. lean — thin
  20. ball — a dance
  21. file — a tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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