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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. file — a line of people
  7. bass — the fish
  8. spring — a coil
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. cell — a phone
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. rest — what's left
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. rest — a break
  20. file — a tool
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. key — the most important part
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. file — a document

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