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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pop — music
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bass — low music
  7. chest — a box
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. saw — the tool
  11. band — a ring
  12. row — to paddle
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. pop — soda
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — in cards
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a music group
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. band — a rubber band

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