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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. game — wild animals
  3. pound — a weight
  4. chest — a box
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. bass — the fish
  7. chest — of your body
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. toast — bread
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. cabinet — a cupboard
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. game — a match
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. pound — for dogs

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