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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. The light ________________ burned out.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. bass — the fish
  3. pass — a permit
  4. bass — low music
  5. wind — moving air
  6. roll — a cake
  7. wind — moving air
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. pass — to spend time
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. bulb — for light
  15. wound — an injury
  16. pound — a weight
  17. wound — an injury
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. kid — to tease
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. roll — a list
  23. kid — child
  24. wind — to turn a key

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