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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. chair — a leader
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rest — what's left
  10. roll — a list
  11. game — wild animals
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rest — what's left
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bass — low music
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. rest — a break
  24. hide — to keep secret

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