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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. cold — not warm
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. saw — the tool
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitch — completely
  7. spring — a coil
  8. cold — an illness
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. spring — the season
  12. chair — a leader
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. spring — of water
  17. suit — in cards
  18. suit — to fit
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. suit — clothes
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. lie — to recline

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