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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 116 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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. season — of the year
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. season — in sport
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. prune — to trim
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. vault — a safe
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. kid — to tease
  20. prune — to trim
  21. vault — an arched ceiling
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. cell — a phone

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