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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 124 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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. ground — the earth
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bass — low music
  5. cap — of ice
  6. hand — in cards
  7. rash — a series
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. ground — a position
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. hand — help
  17. cap — a hat
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. ground — crushed
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bass — the fish
  24. 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