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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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. ground — a position
  4. game — a match
  5. net — in sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. suit — in cards
  9. bat — the animal
  10. hand — help
  11. net — for catching
  12. game — wild animals
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. net — after costs
  16. ground — crushed
  17. hand — in cards
  18. suit — clothes
  19. bass — low music
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bass — the fish
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. bat — for baseball

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