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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. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. pass — a permit
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — final
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. scale — in music
  10. last — to go on
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. last — finally
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. bass — low music
  17. hand — help
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bass — the fish
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. scale — size or range

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