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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. chest — a box
  3. bass — low music
  4. field — farmland
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. season — in sport
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — for sport
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. season — of the year
  12. lie — to recline
  13. charge — electricity
  14. chest — of your body
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bat — the animal
  17. charge — a price
  18. field — a subject
  19. mark — a trace
  20. charge — in control
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bat — for baseball

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