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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. cue — a hint
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. pit — in a race
  8. cue — for pool
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. ball — a great time
  12. ball — a dance
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chest — a box
  16. bass — low music
  17. pit — a hole
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cue — a signal
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. wound — an injury
  23. file — a tool
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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