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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 116 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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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. season — of the year
  4. kick — in football
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. bound — tied together
  8. ground — the earth
  9. shower — rain
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bass — the fish
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. ground — a position
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. bound — obliged
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bound — certain
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. season — in sport
  24. shower — to wash

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