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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.

Make a worksheet

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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fine — all right
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. squash — the sport
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. fine — high quality
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. squash — to crush
  14. kid — child
  15. branch — a division
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree

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