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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. sharp — clever
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bass — the fish
  5. mate — to breed
  6. swing — music
  7. swing — to play on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. date — the fruit
  10. fall — to drop
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bass — low music
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — ground
  17. fall — to drop
  18. mate — a partner
  19. fall — the season
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. swing — in golf
  22. land — to come down
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. land — a country

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