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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 · bat · mate · track · pound · roll · hand · mouse

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. bass — the fish
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. mate — a partner
  8. mate — to breed
  9. mate — a friend
  10. hand — in cards
  11. roll — a cake
  12. pound — a weight
  13. track — a path
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. hand — help
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. bat — the animal
  22. roll — a list
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. hand — part of the body

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