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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 120 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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. stand — to bear
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. shower — rain
  7. kick — in football
  8. chip — for betting
  9. bulb — for light
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bulb — for light
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. shower — to wash
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. chip — to eat
  19. game — wild animals
  20. bass — the fish
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — a match

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