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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 play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. The light ________________ burned out.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. mug — to rob
  3. band — a ring
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mug — a face
  6. cold — not warm
  7. spring — of water
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bass — low music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. bulb — for light
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. spring — a coil
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ball — a dance
  20. band — a music group
  21. bulb — for light
  22. ball — a great time
  23. spring — the season
  24. bay — a part of the sea

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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