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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. pop — soda
  5. staff — employees
  6. cold — not warm
  7. pop — music
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. staff — a stick
  11. saw — the tool
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. deal — to handle
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. bass — low music
  16. staff — employees
  17. cold — an illness
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the fish
  24. pop — to visit

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