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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 116 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. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. bass — low music
  3. ball — a dance
  4. wind — moving air
  5. kid — child
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ball — a great time
  8. kid — to tease
  9. game — a match
  10. game — wild animals
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wind — moving air
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. charge — electricity
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cell — in biology
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bass — the fish
  24. bark — of a tree

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