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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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rash — hasty
  4. bass — low music
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — a match
  10. bear — the animal
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rash — a series
  15. scale — size or range
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. game — wild animals
  19. bear — the animal
  20. row — to paddle
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. scale — in music
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. scale — for weighing

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