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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. bass — low music
  3. bore — to tire
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. scale — in music
  6. bass — the fish
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. stem — to come from
  12. rest — what's left
  13. bore — to drill
  14. spell — magic
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. spell — a short time
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. scale — size or range
  20. season — of the year
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rest — a break
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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