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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fall — to drop
  4. bass — the fish
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. squash — to crush
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. file — a line of people
  11. club — for golf
  12. fall — to drop
  13. club — a group
  14. fall — the season
  15. march — the month
  16. file — a tool
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. squash — the sport
  20. file — a document
  21. march — the month
  22. march — music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. calf — a young animal

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