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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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — the fish
  3. file — a line of people
  4. band — a ring
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. file — a document
  7. club — for dancing
  8. hand — in cards
  9. mate — a partner
  10. band — a music group
  11. wind — moving air
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. file — a tool
  15. foot — a measure
  16. mate — to breed
  17. club — for golf
  18. mate — a friend
  19. wind — moving air
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. bass — low music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. club — a group

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