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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. bass — low music
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. last — finally
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. suit — clothes
  10. suit — to fit
  11. suit — in cards
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. last — to go on
  14. mark — a grade
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. mark — a trace
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. last — final
  24. bass — the fish

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