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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 speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wake — a trail
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — a group
  6. bass — the fish
  7. plane — a tool
  8. rash — a series
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. file — a line of people
  17. mine — for digging
  18. file — a document
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. file — a tool
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. arm — a part of something
  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