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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. game — a match
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. ball — a great time
  5. ball — a dance
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. board — a committee
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. game — wild animals
  12. cold — not warm
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. bass — low music
  19. board — to get on
  20. cold — an illness
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rock — a stone
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rock — music

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