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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. What do you think of the new ________________?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kid — child
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. cell — a phone
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cell — in biology
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. capital — money
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. wound — an injury
  18. capital — a city
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — to tease
  23. bark — to shout
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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