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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. can — a tin
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. fall — the season
  5. can — to be able to
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ball — a dance
  10. can — a tin
  11. fall — to drop
  12. band — a ring
  13. ball — a great time
  14. game — a match
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bass — the fish
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. game — wild animals
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. band — a music group
  24. sharp — clever

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