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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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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: mouse · spell · chest · face · land · shower · racket · bass

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. spell — magic
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. spell — letters
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. land — a country
  7. chest — a box
  8. chest — of your body
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. face — to confront
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. face — to point toward
  16. land — ground
  17. shower — rain
  18. spell — a short time
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. face — part of the head
  22. chest — of your body
  23. land — to come down
  24. mouse — the animal

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