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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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. club — for golf
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — not warm
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. club — for dancing
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pass — a permit
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. club — a group
  17. bass — low music
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. mine — for digging
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. saw — the tool

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