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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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. mark — a grade
  5. bass — low music
  6. squash — the sport
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. bass — the fish
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. row — a line
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. game — a match
  14. bark — to shout
  15. squash — to crush
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. lean — thin
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. lean — to bend
  24. mark — a trace

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