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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. drill — the tool
  4. pitch — completely
  5. bass — the fish
  6. drill — army training
  7. bass — low music
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chip — for betting
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bear — the animal
  12. wind — moving air
  13. chip — to eat
  14. rash — a series
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. file — a tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. drill — a practice
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. bear — the animal
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. file — a document
  24. chip — in a computer

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