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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. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — for a computer
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bass — low music
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. file — a document
  8. cue — a signal
  9. bat — the animal
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. file — a tool
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bass — the fish
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. cue — for pool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. cue — a hint
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — for digging

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