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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. cap — a hat
  3. bass — the fish
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. scale — size or range
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. swing — to play on
  9. wound — an injury
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. bass — low music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wound — an injury
  15. swing — music
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. cap — of ice
  18. band — a music group
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. swing — in golf
  22. scale — in music
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a ring

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