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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. date — the fruit
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cap — of ice
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. mine — for digging
  12. cap — a lid
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. tear — from crying
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pitch — completely
  18. tear — to rip
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. bass — the fish
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. bass — low music
  24. pitch — a sports field

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