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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. bass — the fish
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. prune — to trim
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. wound — an injury
  15. stock — shares
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. season — in sport
  18. stock — goods
  19. wound — an injury
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. season — of the year
  22. chair — a leader
  23. fall — the season
  24. prune — the fruit

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