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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 124 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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pop — music
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. toast — bread
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cell — a phone
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. rash — hasty
  10. rash — a series
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bass — low music
  13. ground — a position
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. ground — the earth
  17. pop — soda
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. cell — in biology
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. season — of the year

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