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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — exactly
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. game — a match
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. kid — child
  9. pit — a hole
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. bass — low music
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. pit — in a race
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. sharp — clever
  18. game — wild animals
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pound — a weight
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  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