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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. band — a music group
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. pop — to visit
  14. file — a tool
  15. sharp — clever
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — music
  18. file — a document
  19. bass — the fish
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. pop — soda
  24. mine — for digging

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