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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. ground — a position
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. bass — low music
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — hasty
  7. bass — the fish
  8. club — for golf
  9. ground — the earth
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. club — for dancing
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — for paper
  14. season — in sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. clip — a video
  17. rash — a series
  18. ground — crushed
  19. club — a group
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. fall — the season
  24. racket — a loud noise

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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