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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. bass — the fish
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. bass — low music
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. board — to get on
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. pass — a permit
  21. board — a committee
  22. cold — not warm
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. game — wild animals

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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