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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: roll · swing · mine · game · ground · lean · rock · bass

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. roll — a cake
  3. bass — the fish
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a match
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. swing — to play on
  9. bass — low music
  10. ground — the earth
  11. rock — music
  12. lean — thin
  13. ground — a position
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. swing — in golf
  16. roll — a list
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rock — a stone
  22. mine — for digging
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. swing — music

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