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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. kid — child
  3. band — a ring
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. band — a music group
  7. game — a match
  8. fall — the season
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. row — to paddle
  11. fall — to drop
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. bass — the fish
  14. bass — low music
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. game — wild animals
  20. kid — to tease
  21. row — a line
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. mouse — the animal

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