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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. land — ground
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — in biology
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bass — the fish
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. kid — to tease
  10. kid — child
  11. cell — a phone
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. perch — the fish
  14. stand — to bear
  15. bass — low music
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. land — a country
  22. season — in sport
  23. season — of the year
  24. season — to add flavour

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