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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — decided
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. firm — a company
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. roll — a cake
  12. season — in sport
  13. season — of the year
  14. firm — steady
  15. dip — to sink
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. file — a document
  18. bass — low music
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. roll — a list
  22. bass — the fish
  23. file — a tool
  24. season — to add flavour

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