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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. track — a song
  6. chip — for betting
  7. track — to keep track
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. track — a path
  12. bass — the fish
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. fork — in a road
  18. saw — the tool
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. chip — to eat
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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