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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. sharp — clever
  3. last — finally
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rest — what's left
  6. rest — a break
  7. mug — a cup
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mug — a face
  11. mug — to rob
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. last — to go on
  14. rest — what's left
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. shower — to wash
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. shower — rain
  20. last — final
  21. cap — a hat
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. cap — of ice
  24. cap — a lid

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