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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 ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. mug — a cup
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. net — after costs
  8. mug — to rob
  9. cold — not warm
  10. wind — moving air
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. net — for catching
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cold — an illness
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. net — in sport
  24. mug — a face

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