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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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. staff — employees
  4. club — for golf
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. club — for dancing
  7. bass — low music
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — child
  13. kid — to tease
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. staff — employees
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. staff — a stick
  18. ground — a position
  19. rule — a law
  20. sharp — clever
  21. rule — government
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. club — a group
  24. bass — the fish

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