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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bass — low music
  4. rock — a stone
  5. spell — letters
  6. bore — to tire
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. bass — the fish
  11. spell — a short time
  12. spell — magic
  13. bore — to drill
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. hand — help
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bore — gave birth

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