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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. pit — in a race
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. bass — the fish
  5. last — final
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. last — to go on
  9. season — of the year
  10. season — in sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. ball — a great time
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. shower — rain
  18. rock — a stone
  19. shower — to wash
  20. pit — a hole
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a dance
  23. rock — music
  24. last — finally

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