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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ball — a great time
  3. hand — help
  4. chip — for betting
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. last — final
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bass — low music
  11. last — to go on
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chip — to eat
  15. ball — a dance
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. last — finally
  19. lash — a whip stroke
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. nail — on a finger
  22. hand — in cards
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. bass — the fish

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