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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.

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. squash — the sport
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. hand — help
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. bass — the fish
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. key — for a lock
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. object — to protest
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. object — a thing
  17. rock — music
  18. object — an aim
  19. key — in music
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. key — the most important part
  22. rock — a stone
  23. squash — to crush
  24. foot — a measure

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