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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  12. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. game — wild animals
  3. spell — letters
  4. game — a match
  5. hand — help
  6. hand — in cards
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rock — music
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. pass — to succeed
  12. safe — a strongbox
  13. spell — magic
  14. pass — a permit
  15. rock — a stone
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. spell — a short time
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bark — to shout

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