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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. mark — a trace
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wake — a trail
  6. hand — help
  7. scale — size or range
  8. game — wild animals
  9. mark — a grade
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a city
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. game — a match
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. scale — in music
  21. wave — of the sea
  22. bass — low music
  23. capital — money
  24. bass — the fish

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