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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. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chip — to eat
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. can — to be able to
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. mine — for digging
  11. bass — the fish
  12. ground — crushed
  13. mate — a partner
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. chip — for betting
  17. can — a tin
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. can — a tin
  21. wake — a trail
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ground — the earth

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