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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. rest — a break
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. sharp — clever
  6. spring — the season
  7. bass — the fish
  8. rest — what's left
  9. cell — a phone
  10. rest — what's left
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bulb — for light
  13. rush — hurry
  14. spring — a coil
  15. squash — the sport
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. bulb — for light
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. squash — to crush
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. cell — in biology
  24. spring — of water

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