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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. prune — to trim
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bass — low music
  7. bass — the fish
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bowl — a football final
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — a position
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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