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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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pop — music
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. wake — a trail
  9. craft — boats
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. craft — a skill
  12. pop — soda
  13. dip — to sink
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. pop — to visit
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. cell — in biology
  24. bass — the instrument

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