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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. last — to go on
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. club — a group
  5. bass — the fish
  6. wind — moving air
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. club — for dancing
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. chip — to eat
  14. chip — for betting
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bat — the animal
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. last — final
  21. last — finally
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. bark — to shout
  24. club — for golf

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