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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. mine — for digging
  4. bass — the fish
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. kid — child
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. ground — the earth
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. ground — a position
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. kid — to tease
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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