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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. bass — low music
  3. last — final
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. scale — size or range
  6. bass — the fish
  7. last — finally
  8. season — in sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. scale — in music
  11. last — to go on
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. fall — to drop
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. cell — in biology
  21. fall — the season
  22. season — of the year
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cell — a phone

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