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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 116 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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. spring — of water
  3. rash — hasty
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. season — of the year
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bass — low music
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rash — a series
  12. spring — the season
  13. stock — goods
  14. mine — for digging
  15. spring — a coil
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. season — in sport
  19. rock — music
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rock — a stone
  22. row — a line
  23. stock — shares
  24. bass — the instrument

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