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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — an illness
  4. bass — the fish
  5. board — a committee
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. ground — crushed
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. pound — a weight
  14. board — to get on
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. bass — low music
  18. cold — not warm

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