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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. squash — to crush
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. band — a music group
  6. pound — a weight
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. track — to keep track
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — child
  12. bass — low music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. track — a path
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. chip — for betting
  18. squash — the sport
  19. capital — a city
  20. chip — to eat
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bass — the fish
  23. capital — money
  24. band — a ring

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