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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. present — a gift
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. chair — a leader
  11. race — a contest
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. wake — a trail
  15. race — the arms race
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. present — the time now
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. present — there
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. race — humankind
  23. coach — pulled by horses
  24. pound — a weight

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