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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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. ball — a dance
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. bass — low music
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. board — to get on
  7. row — to paddle
  8. game — wild animals
  9. row — a line
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — help
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. hand — in cards
  17. foot — a measure
  18. bass — the fish
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. ball — a great time
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. game — a match
  23. shower — rain
  24. board — a committee

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