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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. pit — a hole
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — the fish
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. wound — an injury
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. scale — size or range
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — in music
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bass — low music
  17. wound — an injury
  18. cell — in biology
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. cell — a phone
  21. root — of a plant
  22. root — of a word
  23. pit — in a race
  24. root — the cause

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