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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.

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: wake · bass · drill · game · foot · cold · net · pound

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. foot — part of the body
  3. pound — a weight
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — not warm
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. net — in sport
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. net — after costs
  17. foot — a measure
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. drill — army training
  20. drill — the tool
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. net — for catching
  24. cold — an illness

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