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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. kick — in football
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cell — a phone
  6. sharp — clever
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pit — a hole
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. cell — in biology
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. rush — hurry
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — in a race
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kick — with a leg

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