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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. pit — in a race
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stick — to attach or keep to
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. net — in sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bass — low music
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. game — a match
  17. game — wild animals
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. pit — a hole
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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