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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: bass · arm · can · mine · squash · date · game · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. mine — for digging
  3. can — to be able to
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. game — wild animals
  6. can — a tin
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. date — the fruit
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bass — low music
  12. squash — the sport
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. game — a match
  17. bass — the fish
  18. squash — to crush
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. lean — to bend
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. can — a tin
  24. date — on the calendar

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