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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cell — in biology
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. cell — a phone
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wake — a trail
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. rush — hurry
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bass — the fish
  22. key — in music
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. rush — a thrill

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