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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — final
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. row — a line
  7. row — to paddle
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. last — to go on
  10. bass — the fish
  11. fall — to drop
  12. fall — to drop
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. last — finally
  17. fall — the season
  18. row — a quarrel

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