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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. hand — help
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. can — to be able to
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. net — after costs
  10. can — a tin
  11. game — a match
  12. snap — to click
  13. can — a tin
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — wild animals
  17. hand — in cards
  18. hand — part of the body

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