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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. hand — in cards
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. bass — low music
  14. hand — help
  15. bore — to drill
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. mine — for digging
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. cold — an illness
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. plane — a tool

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