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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. can — a tin
  3. bass — low music
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. hand — in cards
  6. fine — all right
  7. stand — to bear
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. row — a line
  10. can — a tin
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. row — to paddle
  16. can — to be able to
  17. sharp — clever
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fine — high quality
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. cell — in biology
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. cell — a phone
  24. row — a quarrel

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