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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pop — soda
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pop — to visit
  5. face — part of the head
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. bass — low music
  9. face — to point toward
  10. court — for sport
  11. board — to get on
  12. spell — magic
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. spell — letters
  15. court — of a king
  16. spell — a short time
  17. pop — music
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. kid — to tease
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. court — of law
  23. face — to confront
  24. kid — child

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