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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 120 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. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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. wave — a sudden rise
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — a weight
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. bat — the animal
  8. staff — employees
  9. game — a match
  10. staff — a stick
  11. chest — of your body
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. staff — employees
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — wild animals
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. hand — help

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