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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: bass · mine · club · arm · net · ground · tear · pound

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. ground — a position
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pound — a weight
  8. tear — from crying
  9. ground — crushed
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. ground — the earth
  12. net — for catching
  13. mine — for digging
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. net — in sport
  16. bass — the fish
  17. club — for dancing
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. club — a group
  21. net — after costs
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. club — for golf

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