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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. bass — the fish
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. shower — to wash
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. bass — low music
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. deal — to handle
  12. hand — help
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. shower — rain
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. march — the month
  17. march — the month
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. hand — in cards
  23. branch — a division
  24. march — music

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