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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. drill — army training
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. stock — shares
  6. fork — in a road
  7. game — wild animals
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. hand — help
  10. snap — to click
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. hand — in cards
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. stock — goods
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. bass — the fish

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