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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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. wake — a trail
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. pit — a hole
  14. pit — in a race
  15. capital — money
  16. bat — the animal
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. capital — a city
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. bass — low music
  24. capital — a big letter

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