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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: hand · bass · bowl · kick · fall · rash · date · chip

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. rash — hasty
  3. fall — to drop
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. date — the fruit
  7. chip — to eat
  8. fall — the season
  9. hand — help
  10. bass — the fish
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. kick — in football
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. hand — in cards
  20. fall — to drop
  21. chip — for betting
  22. rash — a series
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bass — low 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