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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rush — hurry
  3. ball — a dance
  4. sharp — clever
  5. mate — a friend
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. bass — the fish
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. bass — low music
  14. band — a ring
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. ball — a great time
  17. game — a match
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mate — to breed
  20. wind — moving air
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. game — wild animals
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. mate — a partner

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