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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. file — a line of people
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rock — music
  7. bear — the animal
  8. bass — low music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. march — the month
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. march — the month
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pit — a hole
  16. file — a document
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wound — an injury
  19. march — music
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a tool
  24. pit — in a race

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