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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: file · roll · board · game · bass · content · hand · wound

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. file — a line of people
  3. content — the amount
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. roll — a cake
  6. file — a document
  7. game — a match
  8. wound — an injury
  9. roll — a list
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. board — a committee
  12. bass — the fish
  13. wound — an injury
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bass — low music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — help
  20. content — happy
  21. file — a tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. hand — in cards
  24. bass — the instrument

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