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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 old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. staff — a stick
  3. bass — low music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. stock — shares
  6. season — of the year
  7. last — to go on
  8. spell — magic
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. game — a match
  11. season — in sport
  12. staff — employees
  13. last — final
  14. spell — letters
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bass — the fish
  17. stock — goods
  18. chest — of your body
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. staff — employees
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chest — a box
  24. last — finally

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