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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. last — to go on
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. tube — the underground
  11. rash — a series
  12. wake — a trail
  13. fine — all right
  14. last — final
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. tube — a container
  18. last — finally
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. bass — low music
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. fine — high quality

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