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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. track — a path
  4. bulb — for light
  5. pit — in a race
  6. fall — to drop
  7. fall — to drop
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. kid — to tease
  11. pit — a fruit stone
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bulb — for light
  14. kid — child
  15. object — an aim
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — a thing
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. track — a song
  20. pit — a hole
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. fall — the season

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