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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 120 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 would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. bass — low music
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. cold — not warm
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. stem — to come from
  11. march — the month
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. rest — what's left
  14. cold — an illness
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. net — for catching
  17. bass — the fish
  18. net — in sport
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. net — after costs
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — what's left

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