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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. land — to come down
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. bass — low music
  6. spring — of water
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. scale — in music
  11. craft — a skill
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. land — a country
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. land — ground
  21. scale — size or range
  22. pit — a hole
  23. craft — boats
  24. pit — in a race

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