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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 took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bass — low music
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. bass — the fish
  7. court — of law
  8. pit — a hole
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. court — of a king
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — in sport
  14. cold — not warm
  15. last — finally
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. cell — in biology
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. cell — a phone
  21. last — to go on
  22. net — after costs
  23. last — final
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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