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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: sharp · bass · ground · bat · squash · shower · bear · stand

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bass — low music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. squash — the sport
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stand — to bear
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. ground — crushed
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. bear — the animal
  22. shower — rain
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. sharp — with an edge

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