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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bass — low music
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mate — a friend
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — in football
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. saw — the tool
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. court — of law
  15. game — a match
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. court — for sport
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. lie — to recline
  21. mate — to breed
  22. game — wild animals
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. court — of a king

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