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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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. net — in sport
  5. bass — low music
  6. pass — a permit
  7. craft — a skill
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. chair — a leader
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. net — for catching
  15. game — a match
  16. track — to keep track
  17. game — wild animals
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. net — after costs
  20. pass — to succeed
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. track — a song
  23. craft — boats
  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