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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: straw · mine · game · roll · deal · firm · nail · bass

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. bass — the fish
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. deal — to handle
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. firm — decided
  10. game — a match
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. roll — a list
  13. mine — for digging
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. firm — steady
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. game — wild animals
  19. firm — a company
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. roll — a cake
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. nail — on a finger

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