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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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. march — the month
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — low music
  5. march — music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. cell — a phone
  10. foot — a measure
  11. scale — size or range
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. fall — to drop
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. scale — in music
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. march — the month
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. cell — in biology

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