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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: racket · game · bass · date · pop · chest · bowl · cap

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chest — a box
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. pop — to visit
  9. cap — a lid
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. chest — of your body
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. date — the fruit
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. cap — a hat
  19. game — a match
  20. bass — low music
  21. pop — soda
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. pop — music
  24. racket — for tennis

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