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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. pound — a weight
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. pop — soda
  7. ground — a position
  8. pop — music
  9. pop — to visit
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. face — to point toward
  12. clip — for paper
  13. face — to confront
  14. ground — crushed
  15. face — part of the head
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bass — low music
  20. clip — a video
  21. ground — the earth
  22. clip — to cut
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. mouse — the animal

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