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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — the fish
  3. land — to come down
  4. band — a music group
  5. row — a line
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. cue — a signal
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. cue — for pool
  10. kid — child
  11. land — a country
  12. row — to paddle
  13. cue — a hint
  14. band — a ring
  15. land — ground
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bass — low music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. saw — the tool
  23. kid — to tease
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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