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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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chair — a leader
  3. ground — the earth
  4. ground — a position
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. swing — to play on
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. swing — music
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wound — an injury
  14. ground — crushed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. cue — a signal
  18. cue — for pool
  19. swing — in golf
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bass — the fish
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. cue — a hint
  24. wound — an injury

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