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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. rash — a series
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rash — hasty
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. row — to paddle
  7. can — to be able to
  8. chair — a leader
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. chest — of your body
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. row — a line
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chest — a box
  18. can — a tin
  19. can — a tin
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. lie — to recline
  22. game — a match
  23. bass — low music
  24. chest — of your body

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