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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. court — for sport
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bass — low music
  6. game — a match
  7. band — a music group
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. court — of a king
  17. plane — a tool
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. band — a ring
  21. court — of law
  22. game — wild animals
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. wake — before a funeral

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