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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. bound — certain
  5. bound — tied together
  6. game — a match
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. rush — hurry
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. game — wild animals
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. land — a country
  21. bass — the fish
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. bound — obliged
  24. rush — to hurry

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