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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 124 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. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. bass — low music
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. sharp — clever
  8. game — wild animals
  9. firm — steady
  10. row — a line
  11. rest — what's left
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bass — the fish
  14. kid — child
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rest — what's left
  19. row — to paddle
  20. game — a match
  21. rest — a break
  22. kid — to tease
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. firm — decided

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