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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. chest — of your body
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. ball — a great time
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. ball — a dance
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. cap — of ice
  11. bass — low music
  12. chest — of your body
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. pitch — completely
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bass — the fish
  19. board — to get on
  20. cap — a hat
  21. chest — a box
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. rash — hasty

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