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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. When was this ________________ built?
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. net — for catching
  4. scale — in music
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. scale — size or range
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. mine — for digging
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pound — a weight
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. net — after costs
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bass — low music
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. net — in sport

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