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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 120 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 got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. drill — the tool
  3. game — wild animals
  4. ground — a position
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. ground — crushed
  8. drill — army training
  9. bass — low music
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — a match
  12. mate — to breed
  13. bass — the fish
  14. mate — a friend
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. ground — the earth
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to sink
  20. hand — help
  21. mate — a partner
  22. rush — hurry
  23. drill — a practice
  24. rush — a thrill

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