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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: pitcher · ground · hide · game · band · bass

  1. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. ground — a position
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. game — a match
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. bass — the fish
  14. game — wild animals
  15. band — a ring
  16. bass — low music
  17. band — a music group
  18. ground — crushed

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