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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  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. kid — to tease
  2. march — the month
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. fall — to drop
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — low music
  12. kid — child
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. march — music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. pitch — completely
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  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