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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Have you found your soul ________________?
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. sharp — clever
  4. mate — a partner
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. bass — low music
  7. swing — music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. lash — to lash out
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bulb — for light
  17. cell — a phone
  18. mate — a friend
  19. bulb — for light
  20. cell — in biology
  21. swing — to play on
  22. lash — a whip stroke
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bowl — a football final

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