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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 124 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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fall — to drop
  4. fall — the season
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. band — a ring
  7. fall — to drop
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. band — a music group
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bass — low music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bass — the fish
  16. game — a match
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. nail — for a hammer

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