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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. roll — a list
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. key — for a lock
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. kick — in football
  11. band — a music group
  12. bass — low music
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tear — from crying
  15. key — in music
  16. band — a ring
  17. mine — for digging
  18. roll — a cake
  19. tear — to rip
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. key — the most important part
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. kick — with a leg

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