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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. chest — a box
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. bass — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — hasty
  8. bass — low music
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. prune — to trim
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — a series
  13. chest — of your body
  14. march — the month
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. season — in sport
  17. season — of the year
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. pitch — completely
  24. snap — to click

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