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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: season · hide · wound · craft · pit · bass · bat · cold

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. wound — an injury
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. bass — low music
  6. craft — a skill
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. cold — not warm
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. cold — an illness
  16. bass — the fish
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. wound — an injury
  19. pit — in a race
  20. season — of the year
  21. pit — a hole
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. craft — boats

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