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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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. ground — crushed
  4. bass — low music
  5. object — an aim
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. prune — to trim
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. object — to protest
  11. row — a line
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — the tool
  15. object — a thing
  16. row — to paddle
  17. prune — to trim
  18. drill — army training
  19. ball — a great time
  20. ground — a position
  21. lie — to recline
  22. ball — a dance
  23. ground — the earth
  24. lie — an untruth

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