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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 120 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — there
  3. chest — of your body
  4. court — of a king
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — a match
  7. game — wild animals
  8. present — the time now
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — of law
  11. bass — the fish
  12. chest — a box
  13. spring — the season
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. court — for sport
  18. spring — a coil
  19. present — a gift
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. lash — a whip stroke
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. pit — a hole
  24. lash — an eyelash

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