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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. vault — a safe
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — a permit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. spell — letters
  12. spell — magic
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. spell — a short time
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. dip — to sink
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. perch — the fish
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. dip — to dunk

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