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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a match
  3. fork — in a road
  4. pass — a permit
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. fall — the season
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. game — wild animals
  13. cap — a lid
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. cap — a hat
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cap — of ice

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