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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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. pop — music
  4. can — a tin
  5. pop — soda
  6. last — to go on
  7. mate — a partner
  8. season — in sport
  9. bass — the fish
  10. last — final
  11. pop — to visit
  12. can — a tin
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mate — a friend
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. last — finally
  19. bore — to drill
  20. season — of the year
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bass — low music

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