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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. bass — low music
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. game — wild animals
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. mine — for digging
  11. firm — a company
  12. firm — steady
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. game — a match
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. bass — the fish
  17. pound — a weight
  18. firm — decided

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