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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — a lid
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — after costs
  9. pop — music
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. shower — rain
  13. pitch — completely
  14. pop — to visit
  15. pop — soda
  16. bass — low music
  17. shower — to wash
  18. net — in sport
  19. cap — of ice
  20. net — for catching
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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