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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 people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. bass — low music
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. court — of law
  7. rash — a series
  8. hand — help
  9. wound — an injury
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. court — for sport
  12. wound — an injury
  13. pound — a weight
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. rash — hasty
  16. roll — a cake
  17. court — of a king
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. roll — a list
  20. bass — the fish
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. hand — in cards

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