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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. spring — a coil
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pound — a weight
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bass — the fish
  17. swing — music
  18. cell — a phone
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. last — finally
  21. spring — of water
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cell — in biology
  24. hide — to keep secret

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