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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. hand — in cards
  6. wake — a trail
  7. bass — the fish
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. sharp — clever
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. game — a match
  17. hand — help
  18. bass — low music
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. board — to get on
  21. game — wild animals
  22. rush — hurry
  23. board — a committee
  24. bass — the instrument

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