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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. band — a music group
  4. rush — hurry
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. bass — low music
  8. band — a ring
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. mate — to breed
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. mine — for digging
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. mate — a friend
  19. mate — a partner
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. drill — army training
  23. drill — the tool
  24. drill — a practice

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