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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bass — low music
  3. net — for catching
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. net — after costs
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. spell — letters
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. fine — high quality
  14. lean — thin
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. spell — magic
  17. band — a music group
  18. lean — to bend
  19. band — a ring
  20. net — in sport
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. bass — the fish
  24. racket — for tennis

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