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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bass — the fish
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. last — to go on
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rush — hurry
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. pitch — completely
  13. band — a ring
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. last — final
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. kick — in football
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. band — a music group
  20. season — of the year
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. bark — to shout

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