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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. mate — to breed
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. track — a path
  8. track — to keep track
  9. date — the fruit
  10. season — of the year
  11. game — a match
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a music group
  14. fall — to drop
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. mate — a friend
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bass — the fish
  20. season — in sport
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bass — low music
  23. band — a ring
  24. track — a song

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