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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. saw — the tool
  5. pit — a hole
  6. season — in sport
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bat — the animal
  9. spring — the season
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. season — of the year
  13. pit — in a race
  14. ball — a great time
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. saw — the tool
  19. spring — of water
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bass — the fish
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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