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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. bass — the fish
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. mate — a partner
  5. bass — low music
  6. mate — to breed
  7. rash — hasty
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a music group
  10. board — to get on
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. band — a ring
  14. shower — to wash
  15. board — a committee
  16. mate — a friend
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. prune — to trim
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. shower — rain
  22. rash — a series
  23. fall — to drop
  24. band — a rubber band

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