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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. bass — low music
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. court — of law
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. firm — decided
  8. court — for sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. kick — in football
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. hand — help
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a music group
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. firm — steady
  19. branch — a division
  20. band — a ring
  21. firm — a company
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. court — of a king

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