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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. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rash — a series
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — a coil
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. spring — the season
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. season — in sport
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bass — the fish
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. season — of the year
  23. spring — of water
  24. rash — hasty

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