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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bass — low music
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. chair — a leader
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. craft — a skill
  10. season — of the year
  11. ball — a great time
  12. hand — help
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. season — in sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pitch — completely
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — in cards
  20. sharp — clever
  21. craft — boats
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. ball — a dance

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