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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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bass — low music
  3. cap — of ice
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. season — in sport
  6. mine — for digging
  7. bass — the fish
  8. drill — army training
  9. cap — a lid
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. chest — a box
  13. roll — a cake
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. chest — of your body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. drill — a practice
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. drill — the tool
  22. chest — of your body
  23. roll — a list
  24. cap — a hat

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