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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. last — to go on
  4. bass — low music
  5. pit — a hole
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. prune — to trim
  13. last — finally
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rush — hurry
  18. dip — to sink
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — an illness
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. pit — in a race
  24. last — final

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