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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. land — a country
  6. saw — the tool
  7. land — ground
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cold — not warm
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. season — in sport
  15. cold — an illness
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. land — to come down
  18. mark — a grade
  19. wake — a trail
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. saw — the tool
  24. bass — the fish

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