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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bark · pass · game · band · swing · bass

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pass — a permit
  4. bark — to shout
  5. band — a ring
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. bass — the fish
  8. game — a match
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bass — low music
  13. swing — in golf
  14. swing — music
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. band — a music group
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. bark — of a tree

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