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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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. pitch — a sports field
  4. wind — moving air
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. hand — in cards
  9. board — a committee
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. pitch — completely
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — moving air
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. board — to get on
  21. hand — help
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. stem — to come from
  24. wind — to turn a key

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