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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 120 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: shower · pass · pound · bass · arm · kick · mine · chip

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. pound — a weight
  3. chip — to eat
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. chip — for betting
  7. kick — in football
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. pass — a permit
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. shower — rain
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. shower — to wash
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bass — the fish

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