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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 · drill · foot · game · pound · date · bass · wound

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. pound — a weight
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. drill — army training
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. drill — a practice
  15. game — a match
  16. date — the fruit
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. bass — low music
  20. bass — the fish
  21. foot — a measure
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. drill — the tool
  24. wound — an injury

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