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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 120 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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. mate — a partner
  3. suit — clothes
  4. bass — the fish
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. cold — not warm
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. chest — of your body
  10. suit — in cards
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. dip — to sink
  16. chest — of your body
  17. mate — a friend
  18. band — a ring
  19. suit — to fit
  20. bass — low music
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. cold — an illness
  24. chest — a box

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