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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. file — a document
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bass — low music
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. game — wild animals
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. mine — for digging
  10. wound — an injury
  11. file — a line of people
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. file — a tool
  17. pass — a permit
  18. tube — a container
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. tube — the underground
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the fish
  24. game — a match

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