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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. bass — the fish
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. craft — boats
  5. mark — a trace
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. bass — low music
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pop — soda
  12. pop — to visit
  13. race — a contest
  14. season — in sport
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. season — of the year
  18. chest — a box
  19. pop — music
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. craft — a skill
  23. mark — a grade
  24. chest — of your body

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