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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bass — low music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. ground — a position
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. ground — the earth
  14. row — a line
  15. bass — the fish
  16. kick — in football
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. straw — to clutch at straws

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