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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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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: suit · game · ground · rock · content · bark · hand · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ground — the earth
  4. content — happy
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. hand — in cards
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — to fit
  10. hand — help
  11. content — the amount
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. rock — music
  15. ground — crushed
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bass — low music
  18. bark — to shout
  19. suit — in cards
  20. game — wild animals
  21. game — a match
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. ground — a position
  24. content — videos and posts

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