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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. rash — hasty
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. spring — a coil
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bass — the fish
  17. band — a music group
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — of water
  20. sharp — clever
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — a series
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. band — a ring

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