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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. game — wild animals
  6. hand — in cards
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — the fish
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. court — for sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. court — of law
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — low music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. court — of a king
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pitch — completely
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. hand — help

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