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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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. roll — a list
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. march — the month
  6. roll — a cake
  7. firm — decided
  8. race — a contest
  9. bat — the animal
  10. net — after costs
  11. bass — low music
  12. firm — a company
  13. race — the arms race
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. march — music
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. pit — a hole
  20. race — humankind
  21. firm — steady
  22. bass — the fish
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. march — the month

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