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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. season — of the year
  8. kid — child
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. dip — to sink
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. season — in sport
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. bat — the animal
  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