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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. rock — music
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. can — a tin
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. row — a line
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. track — a song
  10. snap — to click
  11. row — to paddle
  12. can — a tin
  13. rock — a stone
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. deal — to handle
  16. game — a match
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bass — the fish
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. game — wild animals

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